A video of the mob attack on the Gurugram family was posted on social media.
Highlights
- Gurugram family was assaulted by a mob with hockey sticks, iron rods
- The family alleged that attackers demanded that they "go to Pakistan"
- Just one of the nearly 30 people who assaulted them is into custody
Two days after a Gurugram family was assaulted by a mob with hockey sticks and iron rods over a game of cricket, a shroud of fear hangs over their home in Bhondsi locality. Just one of the nearly 30 people who assaulted them on Thursday evening has been taken into custody, and the victims fear there may be another attack.
The family, belonging to a minority community, alleged that the attackers kept hitting them while demanding that they "go to Pakistan". A video of the incident showed the mob targeting women and children too. According to Gurgaon Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Shamsher Singh, one of the victims was thrashed with sticks and iron rods until he lost consciousness.
"We were playing cricket outside the house after Holi when two people tried to stop us. He told us to go to Pakistan and play. When my uncle objected, they slapped him. They even beat my three-year-old child with a cricket bat. What would make people assault an innocent child like this?" one of the family members asked NDTV.
But if the family believed the ordeal over, they were mistaken. The two accused returned a little later with a veritable mob. "Some were armed with iron rods, others with hockey sticks," another injured family member said. "They beat us so bad that I am considering leaving this place once and for all. I would like to sell this house and move on. My children are very frightened."
ACP Singh said a case has been registered against the accused under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including attempted murder.
The incident was condemned by opposition parties. "Is this the New India that Modi wishes to create -- filled with hate and violence?" the Congress tweeted, urging Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to take stringent action against the attackers.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal cited the incident to claim that things are getting progressively worse under the BJP government. "Hitler would do this for power too. His goons used to beat people up, used to murder people. And the police would register cases against the people who were beaten up," he tweeted.
(With inputs from Agencies)