Three people have been arrested for allegedly killing a 55-year-old Muslim vegetable vendor in Beawar town of Rajasthan’s Ajmer district, police told Scroll.in on Sunday. The incident took place on April 3.
Mohammad Salim was killed by a group of seven people after one of the accused persons, Sooraj Marothiya, had hit his son’s bike leading to an altercation. The deceased’s son, Mohammad Abbas, told Scroll.in that Marothiya made religious slurs at him, his father and his brother.
In his complaint to the police, Abbas alleged that on the day of the incident Marothiya had slammed his vehicle into his bike. Marothiya then questioned the presence of Muslims in the vegetable market and said that he would stop their entry into the market, Abbas alleged.
“He [Marothiya] began to say what were Muslims doing here,” Abbas wrote in his complaint. “Your [Muslims] worth is such that if we [Hindus] urinate, all of you will get wiped off.”
Abbas added that soon several other men reached the spot with pipes and sticks and started beating up his father. In his complaint, he identified them as Shankar Bhati, Sharma Bhati, Tony Bhati, Sunil Bhati, Shankar Panwar and Rakesh.
Abbas said his father was hit on the head and soon lost consciousness. He was declared dead at a local government hospital.
A first information report has been registered under Sections 147 (rioting), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint), 153-A (promoting enmity between groups) and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code, police told Scroll.in.
Abbas told Scroll.in that all the accused persons were from his village. He said his family has been provided protection by the police.
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