Mob attacks man with sharp weapons, accuses him of supporting Nupur Sharma

A 23yearold man was attacked with sharp weapons by a mob in Maharashtras Ahmednagar district accusing him of supporting Bharatiya Janata Partys Nupur Sharma on social media leaving him seriously injured police said on SaturdayFour main accused have been arrested in connection with the incident which occurred on August 4A senior officer said it was premature to say anything about the motive behind the attack as the investigation is at the preliminary stageThe man identified as Pratik alias Sunny Rajendra Pawar was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit ICU of a hospital for injuries to his head and other parts of the body a police official saidPawar was attacked by at least 14 people from the Muslim community with a sword sickle sticks and hockey sticks on Thursday evening in front of a medical shop at Akkabai Chowk in Karjat town 222 km away from the Ahmednagar district headquartersThe incident occurred when Pawar and Amit Mane the complainant in the case were going to attend an event on his twowheeler and waiting for a friend near the medical shop the official saidWhile they were waiting for a friend some men belonging to the Muslim community approached them on twowheelers They were carrying a sword sickle and hockey sticks as per the First Information Report FIROne of them shouted at Pawar saying he had written a post on social media in support of Nupur Sharma and also put the status on Instagram after Kanhaiya Lal and attacked him Mane stated in his complaint filed on FridayAlso Read French murder mystery Mumbai beauticians remains to return home from ParisKanhaiya Lal was allegedly murdered by two Muslim men in June in Udaipur for allegedly sharing a social media post in support of former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma whose comments on Prophet Mohammad had caused a huge rowThe attackers threatened Pawar that he will meet the same fate as that Umesh Kolhe One of the attackers hit Pawar in his eyes the official said quoting the FIRKolhe a chemist was killed over his alleged support for Nupur Sharma on social media in Maharashtras Amravati district The case is being investigated by the National Investigation Agency NIAAfter Pawar was left injured Mane called up his two friends and they rushed Pawar to a staterun hospitalA senior police officer said it is premature to link the attack to social media posts if any of PawarThough there is a mention of Pawars social media post in support of Nupur Sharma in the complaint it is very premature to speak about it as the probe is on he saidHe said Pawar has a criminal background with two cases pending against himPawar had been externed earlier for his criminal activitiesDuring the investigation so far we did not come across Pawars social media post supporting Nupur Sharma We are examining all his social media accounts including Facebook Instagram and WhatsApp another police official saidHe said the victim had some old enmity with members of a group which may have led to the attackAn FIR was registered against 14 people under sections 307 Attempt to murder143 Being a member of an unlawful assembly rioting 323 Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt and 504 Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace of the Indian Penal Code IPC and the Scheduled Caste andScheduled Tribe Prevention of Atrocities Act and four of the main accused arrestedCondemning the incident BJP MLA Nitesh Rane said Pawar was accosted by 10 to 15 men from the Muslim community who questioned him why he was keeping Nupur Sharmas picture as his DP and asking others to do soPratik Pawar received 35 stitches during treatment after the attack He is fighting for his life he claimedI want to warn that If Hindus are targeted in such a manner our hands are not tied We will not sit quiet till all the accused are arrested Some of them are still absconding Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is monitoring the case The Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA government and minority affairs minister Nawab Malik are not in power now Attackers of Hindus will be given a titfortat response We follow B R Ambedkars constitution There is no Shariah law in this country he told reporters in MumbaiNitesh son of Union minister Narayan Rane also claimed that Hindu gods and goddesses are insulted with impunity on social mediaThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever