Muslim man, despite being beaten up charged under POCSO

In Indore city of Madhya Pradesh, Muslim bangle vendor Tasleem Ali was booked under charges of forgery, fraud and molestation of a minor, one day after he was publicly beaten up.

The Madhya Pradesh police of Indore has charged severe cases against the man, claiming that a complaint was registered against Tasleem by a minor student. As the FIR denotes, a complaint was registered against Tasleem at Banganga Police Station soon after he was publicly harassed. Tasleem was charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), and IPC sections 420 (cheating), and 471 (using fake documents) among others. He has been accused of cheating, criminal intimidation and outraging the modesty of a woman. Moreover, Indore police have booked him under two sections of the POCSO Act. As Indore SP Ashutosh Bagri informed ANI, two Aadhaar cards were found with the former.

However, the cases were upheaved hours after the video of Tasleem being beaten up for entering a 'Hindu Area', went viral. A resident of Uttar Pradesh, Tasleem was assaulted by a group of unidentified men for selling bangles in the Govind Nagar Area. The video testifies to the group harassing the man for selling bangles in a Hindu populated area. "After asking my name, they frisked me and abused me. They snatched Rs10,000, my mobile phone, my Aadhaar card and other documents. They also robbed bangles worth Rs 25,000 from me", says Tasleem to The Quint. The video supports his claim of undergoing harsh verbal abuse, stone-pelting and strangulations for trading bangles.

Indore Superintendent of Police mentions the arrest of three men, identified from the video, in the above incident after Tasleem lodging a complaint on Sunday evening. The police claim to have charged 25 to 30 others in the FIR related to the issue. However, Tasleem Ali alleges that the complaint was registered only after the Muslim community of the locality protested at Ganganaga Police Station over the incident. "We registered an FIR only after confirming the incident. We will identify the culprits to nab them soon. We have also registered a case against the protestors for not maintaining peace", says Indore Inspector General of Police HN Mishra.