The MP (Madhya Pradesh) government took swift action against six Muslim youths who had tied a leash on Vijay forcing him to bark like a dog and assaulting him. The disturbing video that went viral on social media created outrage. Taking action within 24 hours, the MP government not only got the accused arrested but also invoked NSA (National Security Act) against the accused and demolished their houses.

MP government’s swift action

MP police registered a case against six accused and arrested three of them within 4-6 hours of state Home Minister (HM) Narottam Mishra’s assurance to act against the guilty within 24 hours. As the video, where the victim was identified as Vijay, went viral on June 19 the HM spoke to the media and assured swift action. He said that Police Commissioner Harinarayanchari Mishra was ordered to investigate and submit a report to the HM within 24 hours.

“I have seen the video. I found it very serious. No human should be treated like this. I have immediately instructed the Bhopal Police Commissioner to investigate it and go to the truth and take legal action”, the media quoted the HM as saying.

MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan also took cognizance of the issue and instructed the administration to take strict action against the guilty. Reports said he had directed the administration to invoke NSA against the six Muslim youths and bulldoze their residences that were reportedly illegal.

HM Narottam Mishra spoke to the media following the arrest of the accused. “The accused were arrested within 4-5 hours, bulldozer action will be carried out. We will take such action in Bhopal that it will send a message across the state”, he said. Furthermore, the HM stated that such incidents happen due to the disgusting criminal mindset of the perpetrators. The government would take stringent action to send a message to criminals that such acts will not be tolerated.

“In the video that went viral on Twitter, the five accused made the victim kneel down like a dog and tied a noose around his neck. They forced him to bark like a dog and seek forgiveness. The accused also used abusive slurs for the victim’s mother and sister and thrashed him mercilessly”, noted OpIndia.

Muslim youths kidnap, assault, & put a leash on Vijay

Vijay in his police complaint stated that the incident took place on June 9 when he was returning from a wedding along with his friends. The police confirmed the incident took place in the Tila Jamalpura area of MP’s capital Bhopal.

He was ambushed by Bilal Tila, Faizan Lala, Sahil Bachha, Mohammad Sameer Tila, and Mufid Khan. The accused kidnapped Vijay, threw away his mobile phones and scooter keys, and took him to Gautam Nagar’s PGBT College. Once there, Faizan and Sahil tied the belt around his neck while Sameer, Bilal, Mufid and Sahil beat him. They also took away money amounting to 700-800 rupees.

Additionally, Vijay was made to say things like “Sameer is my father, Fazil is my father, I’ll convert to Islam”. Vijay further alleged that the six Muslims asked him to consume meat and embrace Islam while threatening to rape his mother and sister as they believed that Vijay was a coward.

The MP Police booked the six accused under relevant sections including the Religious Freedom Act and NSA. Their houses were also demolished. Earlier, as the video went viral, Bajrang Dal activists protested outside Tila Jamalpura police station demanding that the guilty be arrested immediately.

While the likes of Hamid Ansari, POCSO-accused Mohammad Zubair, Sayema, Saba Naqvi, and other Islamist apologists repeatedly resort to false claims of Bharat being ‘unsafe’ for Muslims and ‘dara hua Musalman’, incidents like these raise questions about safety of Hindus in ‘Hindu-majority’ Bharat.