Image Courtesy: Indian Express
As reported in the Indian Express, 51-year-old Lakshman Babubhai, a resident of Hansjipura, was allegedly attacked by two men, Imran and Nizam, from the neighbouring Dhaniyavi village when Babubhai objected to the dumping of poultry farm waste into a pond, shared by both the villages, since it is a source of drinking water in his village. Consequently, Babubhai filed a complaint at Dabhoi police station on Saturday, which led to the arrest of Imran and Nizam, who were later released on bail.
Allegedly, the two accused along with seven other men, assaulted Babubhai with sticks and sharp-edged weapons on Tuesday. They even threatened to kill him. Later, the police booked all the nine accused under IPC sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting), 506 (2) (criminal intimidation) among others. However, no arrests have been made so far.
Contrarily, Muslims alleged that the Thakor community pressurised the police to register a false complaint against them, which aggravated the communal tension. They even decided to submit a memorandum to the Superintendent of Police (SP) stating that they were falsely accused in the case.
However, as per the recent developments, as reported in the Indian Express, Babubhai has decided to take back his complaint and the Muslims have refrained from filing a memorandum, after the elders, from both the communities, intervened so as to ensure peace in both the villages.
“Both the villages are close by, and people have always lived in harmony. The person who has been named as an accused is a very simple man and has never been involved in any such crimes. Our leaders got together and decided that there was no point in escalating the matter and give it a communal colour. So, the Hindus decided that they will withdraw the case against the accused. Meanwhile, we have also decided that we would not file any cross complaint or submit any memorandum in the case to anyone,” a minority community leader from Dhaniyavi told The Indian Express.
However, police will continue with its investigation as an FIR has already been lodged and withdrawing it is not easy.
“Once an FIR has been filed, investigation will be carried out as per the laid down procedure. During the investigation, if the complainant states that the allegations he/she has levied is untrue, then the case cannot be proven against the accused. Till then, as per the procedure, police will go ahead with its investigation,” said Tarun Duggal, SP of Vadodara Rural District.
In such bleak times, when communal venom has spread so much, gestures like these are a beacon of hope.
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