A three-year-old girl and her mother died in Maharashtra’s Latur on September 29 after five men in a car allegedly ran over a family travelling on a motorcycle, The Indian Express reported.
The men had chased the Muslim family for five km following an argument over driving.
Sadique Shaikh, who was riding the motorcycle, and his six-year-old son survived with injuries. Shaikh’s wife Iqra and daughter Nadia died.
Shaikh has alleged that the men who chased him and his family had also used communal slurs and said “Muslims need to be taught a lesson”, the newspaper reported.
The accused were arrested on charges of murder, Latur Superintendent of Police Somay Mundhe told The Indian Express. The men were identified as Digambhar Pandole, Krishna Wagh, Basvaraj Dhotre, Manoj Mane and Manoj Mudame.
“At this time, it appears to be a case of road rage,” Mundhe said when asked if the incident would be investigated as a hate crime.
The car abruptly moved in front of the motorcycle Shaikh was riding near Ausa around 8 pm on September 29, the first information report said. Ausa is located about 20 km away from Latur town.
Shaikh confronted the men in the car, who were allegedly intoxicated, he was quoted as saying. While he continued riding following the argument, the men in the vehicle chased Shaikh and his family and crashed into them near Budhada village.
While Shaikh’s family initially thought it was a road accident, upon regaining consciousness the next day, he claimed that they had been targeted based on their religious identity, The Indian Express reported.
Altaf Qazi, the family’s lawyer, alleged that communal slurs had been hurled at them because Iqra was wearing a burqa, the newspaper reported.
However, the FIR does not mention the alleged communal remarks, Newslaundry reported.
The five accused had been apprehended by residents of the area after the incident, Newslaundry reported. A purported video shows one of the accused admitting that they had deliberately crashed their car into the motorcycle, The Indian Express reported.
Shaikh’s family has alleged that the police were initially reluctant to file an FIR for murder and wanted to classify it as an ordinary incident. The complaint was registered two days later after pressure from Qazi and activists from the Muslim community.
“The police initially considered a charge of culpable homicide, despite video evidence indicating their intent,” Qazi told the newspaper. “After considerable persuasion, they agreed to charge the men with murder.”
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