Delhi riot-accused thrashes man, forces him to shout 'Pakistan Murdabad'

New Delhi: A man was allegedly beaten and forced to chant slogans like ‘Hindustan Zindabad’, ‘Pakistan Murdabad’ after he was caught stealing from a dairy in North-east Delhi’s Khajuri Khas. Notably, the person who assaulted him is an accused in the Delhi riots that took place in 2020. A video of the assault which has gone viral on social media, shows the attacker allegedly punching the victim in the abdomen, kicking him in the face and forcing him to chant slogans. The victim repeated the slogans, while pleading not to be thrashed, Times of India reported.

After the video started making rounds on social media, the police registered a case and arrested the attacker on Wednesday. He has been identified as Ajay Goswami, a resident of Old Garhi village and a dairy trader, who was also an accused in the 2020 north-east Delhi riots. However, the police ruled out any connection between the riots and the alleged assault.

DCP (Northeast) Sanjay Sain told TOI, “Once the viral video came to our notice, we took cognisance and sent a team to track the victim and the suspect, who were eventually identified on Wednesday. Goswami was arrested, while his associate Deepak, who was recording the video, is absconding. A case of voluntarily causing hurt and wrongful restraint has been registered at Khajuri Khas police station.”

Meanwhile, another police officer, who asked not to be identified, said the victim is a Muslim man, and has been allegedly involved in a murder and robbery case. “On Tuesday, the man was allegedly trying to enter Goswami’s dairy, purportedly with the an intention to steal, when he was caught,” the officer told Hindustan Times.