An incident involving two Hindu men being attacked by a group of Muslims over bursting firecrackers has come to light in the Bajrangnagar area of Bhavnagar city, Gujarat. A complaint was filed on October 20 at the Boratala police station after two Hindu brothers were assaulted near Kumbharwada Madhiya Road in Bajrangnagar for bursting firecrackers during Deepawali.
Following the complaint, the police registered a case against the accused, Riyaz Pathan, Sameer Hussain Syed, and Aslam Pathan, and have launched an investigation. Two of the three accused have been arrested. According to the FIR, the incident occurred late at night in Maafnagar, near the Mohammadi Mosque on Madhiya Road in the Kumbharwada area. On the day of the incident, Akash, the younger brother of complainant Ravi Parmar, was bursting firecrackers when accused Sameer objected, leading to a heated argument between them.
A group of friends called Ravi to inform him that his brother, Akash, was being assaulted by a group of individuals at the corner of the street following a dispute over bursting firecrackers. When Ravi arrived, three individuals, later identified as Riyaz, Sameer, and Aslam, immediately began hurling verbal abuses. When Ravi objected, Riyaz struck him on the head with an axe, while Sameer and Aslam beat him indiscriminately with pipes. When Akash intervened to help his brother, the assailants also attacked him with pipes.
As the initial attack was underway, more people arrived, and the assailants began beating both brothers with fists and kicks. Ravi told sources that while the violence started with 10 to 15 Muslim men near the Mohammadi Mosque, the crowd soon swelled to 20-25 armed individuals who joined the attack.
The First Information Report (FIR) specifically names Riyaz Pathan, Sameer Hussain Syed, and Aslam Pathan, stating they were armed with a pipe, a sword, and a dagger, respectively. According to the FIR, when Ravi reached the scene, Aslam Pathan immediately began abusing him. When Ravi objected, Aslam struck him on the head with a pipe, with Sameer and Riyaz joining in to thrash the complainant. Ravi sustained a head injury that required stitches and suffered a fracture in his left arm, while Akash also needed stitches for a head wound.
A case has been registered against Riyaz Pathan, Aslam Pathan, and Sameer Hussain Syed under sections 117(2), 118(1), 115(2), 352, and 54 of the BNS, as well as section 135 of the Gujarat Police Act. Two of the accused, Aslam Pathan and Sameer Syed, have been arrested, and the investigation is currently underway.
