A 19-year-old Muslim student of a college in Maharashtra’s Pune city was allegedly beaten up by five unidentified people who accused him of engaging in “love jihad”, police said on Tuesday, news agency PTI reported. .
The incident took place on Sunday afternoon when the student was accompanying two female students on the Savitribai Phule Pune State University campus, an official from Chatushringi police station said, PTI reported.
The police have registered a case against unidentified persons and are trying to identify the culprits, he said.
University authorities said they have created a committee to investigate the incident.
“Love jihad” is a term used by right-wing activists and groups to allege a conspiracy by Muslim men to convert Hindu women to Islam through marriage, PTI reported.
The student, along with his two friends, was returning after lunch when four to five unidentified people on motorcycles approached them on the university campus, the official said, PTI reported.
They started questioning the student and asked him to show his Aadhaar card.
In his complaint, the student alleged that after seeing his name on the ID card, one of the people asked him if he had come to the university to participate in a “love jihad” and attacked him and a Hindu friend who also was present there. police said, PTI reported.
“We have registered a complaint against unidentified persons under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and efforts are on to trace them with the help of CCTV footage,” the official said, PTI reported.
The complainant is a student of a skill development course at the university, he added.
University Registrar Vijay Khare said they have formed an inquiry committee to probe the incident and asked security personnel deployed at the institution to ensure that such incidents of students being threatened by anti-social elements are not repeated, PTI reported.
Meanwhile, five people have been arrested after condoms, gutkas and stones were allegedly found in samosas supplied to a major automobile company based in Pimpari Chinchwad in Pune, police said on Monday, ANI reported.
According to the police, the accused have been identified as Rahim Shaikh, Azhar Shaikh, Mazhar Shaikh, Firoz Shaikh and Vicky Shaikh, ANI reported.
According to the police, those detained included two workers from a subcontracting company that was asked to supply the samosas, as well as three partners from another company whose contract was earlier canceled due to adulteration of the snacks.
“Of the five accused, the three partners had allegedly misled the other two workers to ensure that the company that had got the new contract was defamed,” police said, ANI reported.
According to the police, Catalyst Service Solutions Pvt. Limited. Ltd. was in charge of supplying refreshments to the automobile company’s canteen. However, Catalyst Service had given a contract to supply samosas to another subcontracting company called Manohar Enterprise, ANI reported.
“During the investigation on Sunday, after Manohar Enterprises staff were questioned about the incident, it was found that two workers, identified as Firoz Shaikh and Vicky Shaikh, had allegedly stuffed condoms, gutka and stones in the samosas,” the police said. police. ANI reported.
Further, while questioning the accused, it was revealed that the employees of SRA Enterprises (whose contracts were earlier canceled for adulteration) had sent their two employees to Manohar Enterprises to adulterate the food supplied to the company to defame the Manohar company, Manohar reported. ANI.
“The other three accused are partners of SRA Enterprises, which was withdrawn from the contract earlier after a first aid bandage was found in the samosa delivered to the car company,” police said, ANI reported.
A case has been registered under sections 328 (causing hurt by poison) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC, the police added.
(With contributions from PTI and ANI)
