New Delhi: Administration in Bhopal, on June 19, demolished portions of properties belonging to three men who were arrested for allegedly tying another man on a leash, asking him to bark like a dog and forcing him to say he is ready to adopt Islam as a religion.
The victim is 24-year-old Vijay Ramchandani, who circulated a video of his assault after the accused shared it with him in an extortion attempt, the Indian Express reported.
Police have now invoked the stringent National Security Act (NSA) as well as the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act against the accused, which includes three other men who have not yet been arrested, a report by the Hindu said.
DCP Riyaz Iqbal told Express that the FIR contains charges of “forced conversion and kidnapping.” Six accused named in the FIR are Sajid, Bilal Tila, Faizan Lala, Sahil Bachha, Mohammad Sameer Tila, and Mufeed Khan. The last three are in police custody.
The video had gone viral on June 19. However, police said that the crime took place a month ago. Ramchandani shared the video after expressing that he was frustrated at the police’s lack of action. He told Express that he would get into frequent fights with the accused and had once posted abuses against one of them on social media. He believed the alleged attack on him was in retaliation for this post.
Madhya Pradesh home minister Narottam Mishra asked police to take swift action on June 19.
“I have instructed the Bhopal Police Commissioner to probe and take action within 24 hours … Within 4-5 hours, three of the accused were arrested; [bulldozers] will be used on illegal encroachments,” Mishra said according to the Express.
“This kind of mentality will be completely stamped out,” he added.
The newspaper also reported that properties belonging to the three were demolished or damaged with family members claiming they received no prior notice of the action.
Reports by NDTV and the news agency Press Trust of India say that the approximately 49-second video of Ramchandani shows him being asked to “bark like a dog” and saying that he was ready to become a Muslim.
He has also alleged in the FIR that the accused abducted and beat him, asked him to eat beef and threatened his family members, NDTV reported.
The NSA allows the government to preventively detain someone for up to 12 months if it feels the accused is a threat to national security or law and order.
The use of bulldozers to demolish property and homes belonging to accused persons who have not yet been held guilty by courts has been fine tuned in states like Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, in spite of widespread criticism.