A girl and a boy were beaten up by a mob in Belagavi who were under the impression that both of them were in an inter-faith relationship. They turned out to be brother and sister.
The mob waylaid a boy of 23 years and a girl of 22 years, who were sitting on the Fort Lake tank bed and talking. The boy belonged to the Lambani community and the girl was a Muslim. The mob suspected that they were in an inter-faith relationship. They forcibly took them to a room near the lake and beat them up. The attackers allegedly did not listen to pleas from the youth that they were not in a relationship.
The boy finally managed to call his parents, who alerted the police while searching for them. The police traced the location of the couple through a triangulation tool and rescued them. Belagavi police have arrested eight of the 17 accused.
The boy and girl have suffered injuries and have been shifted to the district hospital to undergo treatment.
BJP leader and former DCM K. S. Eshwarappa visited them on January 7 morning. He demanded justice for the youngsters. “It is very unfortunate that Muslim goondas had attacked the two innocent youth who were brother and sister and the police are taking it easy. No minister or politician has come to visit the boy and girl in the hospital nor offered them moral support. The state government should prove its secular credentials by arresting all the Muslim goondas who are accused of this offence, he said.
DCP Rohan Jagadish told journalists in Belagavi on January 7 that investigators were studying CCTV footage and other clues and would soon arrest the other accused. He informed that two of the arrested persons are minors.
