In another instance of mob violence against minorities in India, a 14-year-old Muslim boy was beaten mercilessly for drinking water from a temple. A video of the temple caretaker brutally beating a child in Ghaziabad in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh recently surfaced online.
Hindustan Times reported that the incident gained public attention after a video of the 23-year-old temple caretaker, Shringi Nandan Yadav, beating the minor went viral. The boy’s family said he had gone inside the temple to drink water when the caretaker caught him. His father said the incident took place at around 5 pm.
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The video showed the caretaker kicking and punching the boy after he revealed his name and his father’s name. The identity of the boy’s father is being withheld as per law to protect the child. The child’s father is daily wage labour.
“My son stopped to drink water from a tap located inside the temple as he was thirsty. He was beaten up after they asked his identity. He suffered a head injury. He generally doesn’t venture inside the temple but this time he told me he was just very thirsty. I have asked him not to go there in the future.”
https://twitter.com/cjwerleman/status/1370483117878779907
The temple authorities say they had barred the entry of non-Hindus inside the temple. Another caretaker of the temple, Yati Narsimhanand Saraswati alleged that the boy was beaten for spitting inside the temple, implying that the abuse was justified.
“There are several taps outside the temple from where people drink water. Our caretakers caught the boy spitting inside the temple. They have been arrested and we will seek to legal recourse to get them bail.”
Ghaziabad police registered a case against Shringi Nandan Yadav and Shivanand Saraswati, another caretaker who recorded the incident and arrested both. Police registered an FIR under Indian Penal Code sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace), 352 (assault or criminal force otherwise than on grave provocation), 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) and also provisions of the Information Technology Act.
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Superintendent of police (SP), Iraj Raja said;
“The prime suspect (Yadav) has been staying in the temple complex for the past three months. Both suspects made the video go viral.”
बच्चे को पीटकर विडीओ बनाने वाले अपराधी की गिरफ़्तारी की जानकारी @Uppolice द्वारा प्रसारित की गयी है,@NCPCR_ बच्चे को न्याय दिलाने के लिए प्रतिबद्ध है। pic.twitter.com/aS6NApn5Hp
— प्रियंक कानूनगो Priyank Kanoongo (@KanoongoPriyank) March 12, 2021
Chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) Priyank Kanoongo, tweeted the picture of the prime suspect. He said the NCPCR was committed to protecting the rights of the child.
