The mob attacked the person with a sharp weapon accusing him of supporting Nupur Sharma

Maharashtra | A 23-year-old man was attacked with sharp weapons by a mob in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district, accusing him of supporting suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nupur Sharma on social media, leaving him seriously injured. Four main accused have been arrested in connection with the incident which took place on August 4. A senior official said it was too early to say anything about the motive behind the attack as the investigation was in the initial stages.

A police officer said Prateek alias Sunny Rajendra Pawar was admitted to the ICU for treatment of injuries to the head and other parts of the body. At least 14 members of the Muslim community attacked Pawar with swords, sickles, sticks and hockey sticks on Thursday evening in front of a medical shop at Akkabai Chowk in Karjat city, 222 km from Ahmednagar district headquarters.

The incident took place when the complainants in the case, Pawar and Amit Mane, were going to attend an event on their two-wheeler and were waiting for a friend near the medical shop, the official said. At the same time some people from the Muslim community reached him on two-wheelers. According to the FIR, they were carrying swords, sickles and hockey sticks.

posted status on instagram

Mane, in his complaint filed on Friday, said that one of them shouted at Pawar saying that he had written a post on social media in support of Nupur Sharma and also posted a status on Instagram after Kanhaiya Lal and then those people attacked. Kanhaiya Lal was murdered by two Muslim youths in June in Udaipur for sharing a social media post in support of former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma. There was a lot of controversy due to Sharma's statement about the Prophet.

The attackers also threatened

The attackers threatened Pawar that he too would face the same fate as Umesh Kolhe. The official, citing the FIR, said that one of the attackers also hit Pawar in the eye. Chemist Kolhe was murdered in Maharashtra's Amravati district for supporting Nupur Sharma on social media. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is probing the matter.

The complaint mentions the post in support of Nupur Sharma

After Pawar was injured, Mane called two of his friends and they took Pawar to the government hospital. A senior police officer said it was too early to link the attack to Pawar's social media posts. "Though (in the complaint) there is mention of Pawar's social media post in support of Nupur Sharma, it is too early to say anything about it as the investigation is on," he said. He said Pawar has a criminal background and two cases are pending against him.