Panchkula: 3 held for thrashing, hurling casteist slurs at two students get bail
A local court has granted bail to three students who were arrested earlier this month for allegedly hurling casteist remarks and assaulting two ITI students belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC) community.
The bail was granted to Mohit Kumar, 19, and Sahil, 19, from Mauli village, and Aryan, 19, from Barwala village.
The trio was booked by the Sector-5 police station on May 1 under Sections 115, 190, 191 (2) and 351 (2) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and Sections 3 (1) (s) and 3(2)(va) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. They had been in police custody since their arrest.
According to the prosecution's case, the complainant, Harsh Kumar, 20, a resident of Nangal village and an electrician trade student at ITI, Sector 14, filed a complaint stating that on May 1, around 8.20 am, while he and his friend Sarabjit Singh were en route to ITI from the Jaloli toll plaza and reached the Sector-5 bus stand, they were accosted by Sahil, a fellow ITI student. Sahil allegedly used a casteist slur against Harsh, prompting them to turn back.
The complaint further stated that Sahil, accompanied by another boy, approached them, grabbed him by the throat, and enquired about a social media post he had uploaded from his mobile phone. When Harsh explained it was about a meeting, Sahil and his companion allegedly asserted their Rajput identity, stating Harsh could 'never match them', and demanded he delete the post.
Upon refusal, Sahil and his friend allegedly began to thrash Harsh and Sarabjit.
Seeking safety, they fled towards Shahidi Samagam, Sector 10, near Tawa Dhaba, but Sahil and his companion allegedly followed and continued the assault, demanding they shout slogans of 'Rajput Zindabad' and upload a social media post stating 'Bhim Army Muradabad' from their phones.
The victims managed to escape again and sought refuge near Tawa Dhaba.
Subsequently, Mohit, Shekhar, Nitin, Sahil, Johny, another boy named Sahil and 5-6 other boys, who also study at ITI, allegedly attacked them with hardened punches.
One of the attackers was reportedly video-recording the incident. The arrival of a police vehicle caused the attackers to flee after allegedly uttering casteist remarks and threats of killing anyone who uploaded or commented on a controversial marriage incident from Mauli village.
While granting bail, the court noted that Aryan was a student at Government College, Sector 1, Panchkula, and was not named in the initial complaint. His name surfaced in a supplementary statement.
The court also observed that the injuries sustained by Harsh and Sarabjit were abrasions, classified as simple and blunt by the doctor, and there were no allegations that the petitioners were armed.
The defence counsel argued that the complainant neither mentioned his caste in the initial complaint nor specified that the petitioners belonged to non-scheduled castes.
The court further noted that accused Mohit belongs to the Kabir Panthi caste, recognised as a Scheduled Caste in Haryana. Further, the court noticed the absence of any allegation that the petitioners abused the complainant and his friend by their caste name in a public place.
The court also considered that the petitioners and the complainant were young, around 19 years old, and their exams were scheduled to begin on June 2, requiring preparation time.
Considering their custody period, the lack of any pending recoveries and the anticipated length of the trial, the court deemed that no useful purpose would be served by keeping them in jail. Consequently, the petitioners were granted bail upon furnishing personal bonds subject to stipulated conditions.
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