- By Nidhi Giri
- Sun, 15 Dec 2024 01:57 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
UP News: A 38-year-old man was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police for allegedly assaulting and forcing a 17-year-old girl, who was with her younger sister (16) and heading home, to remove her hijab to make a video after the accused claimed that she was speaking to a "Hindu man". The man identified as Mohd Mehtab, was purportedly among one of the dozen men who had surrounded the teen girls and started "harassing" them.
The incident took place at Deoband in Saharanpur district on December 11. However it was brought to notice after a purported video of the episode began circulating on social media.
"My sister and I visited our relative's place and were heading back home when a motorcycle-borne man stopped and asked for directions. I was explaining the route to him when two unidentified persons intercepted us and started creating a ruckus. They started gathering more people, claiming that we were speaking to a Hindu man. Soon, we were surrounded by over a dozen men. I was also slapped," the 17-year-old told the police, TOI reported.
In a widely-shared video, the girls could be seen surrounded by a group of men.
The mob overpowered the victim and snatched her phone as she was trying to call her brother. One of them was seen with a "gift" in his hand, claiming that the girls had brought it to give to a "Hindu man". However, upon learning that the man was not a Hindu, they allowed the girls to leave. The girls thereafter approached the local police and filed a complaint.
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"We have registered an FIR under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 115-2 (voluntarily causing hurt), 352 (intentional insult), and section 67 of the Information Technology (IT) Act. We have arrested Mehtab and are trying to identify the remaining men using the video which is being circulated online," Superintendent of police (rural) Sagar Jain told TOI.
