Man dies after fight over skull cap in Haryana's Panipat; kin allege hate crime, cops deny

Indian Express

6 days ago

A 24-year-old tailor in Haryana's Panipat died last week after being assaulted in an alleged hate crime following an argument over his skull cap. The accused in the case, a 30-year-old man, was sent to judicial custody for 15 days on Monday.
The incident took place on May 24 near Flora Chowk in Sector 29. The police identified the deceased as Firdaus Alam alias Asjad Babu and the accused as Narendra alias Shishu Lala.
According to the police complaint filed by Alam's elder brother, Asad Raees, on May 24, at around 6 pm, Alam had come to Flora Chowk to visit his in-laws. At 8.30 pm, he went for a walk in the vacant field near Flora Chowk with his friend, Shahnawaz. While returning, he passed in front of Lala's grocery shop, the complaint said.
Lala allegedly took Alam's skull cap and wore it. When he was repeatedly asked to return it, he allegedly refused and threw it on the street, as per the complaint. Alam picked up the cap and angrily asked why Lala had thrown it on the road, the complaint said.
Lala allegedly got angry at this, brought a stick from his shop, and hit Alam on the head, wounding him.
After Lala returned to his shop, Shahnawaz informed Raees about the incident, and the duo took him to multiple government hospitals. He succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment at PGI Rohtak.
Alam, who hailed from Kari Virpur village in Bihar's Kishanganj district, stayed in Vikas Nagar with Raees. The brothers did tailoring work together.
Following Raees's complaint, an FIR was lodged at the Industrial Sector 29 police station on May 25, and Lala was arrested hours later.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Raees alleged that it was a hate crime. 'The fight was over the cap only, and he was beaten up badly with a stick,' he said. 'I have lost my brother, and it will take time to get justice,' he added.
However, Police Sub-Inspector Subhash Khasa, Station House Officer, Industrial Sector 29 police station, denied any religious angle to the crime. 'Absolutely not. The accused just wanted to try on the cap, which he might not even have known was a proper skull cap. When he put it on and asked how he looked, the deceased asked him to return it. After that, a fight broke out. There is nothing more in the case, and the investigation is on,' Khasa added.
Meanwhile, JD(U) leader and former Bihar MLA Mujahid Alam called for the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act to be invoked against the accused, along with the death penalty, saying that it was a 'clear hate crime'.
'I have met the Haryana DGP regarding this, and written to the chief minister too. If the police are saying there is no religious angle, it is wrong,' he added.
It had only been seven months since Alam got married. 'What is there to talk about now? My son-in-law is no more,' his father-in-law, Rizwan Kahlu, said.