Hindutva mob brutally assaults three Muslim boys after tying them to a pole in Maharashtra
Mumbai: In yet another incident highlighting the growing wave of anti-Muslim violence in Modi’s India, three Muslim schoolboys were tied to a pole and brutally beaten by a Hindutva mob in the BJP-ruled Maharashtra state after being falsely accused of stealing electrical wire.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the assault took place on July 10 in Kharola village, Indian news portal The Wire reported. The victims, aged between 13 and 15, were tied to a pole and mercilessly beaten with belts, electrical cables and plastic pipes by a group of Hindu men over allegations of theft. A video of the assault, reportedly recorded by one of the attackers, later went viral on social media.
The victims’ families said they rushed to the scene after learning their children had been restrained and assaulted, but were threatened when they tried to intervene. Unable to stop the attack, they approached a nearby police station for help, after which officers arrived and rescued the boys.
One parent said the children sustained multiple injuries and their bodies were covered with bruises caused by repeated beating with belts, electrical wires and plastics pipes.
The incident has also raised serious questions over the role of the police. While police said they rescued the boys from the mob, they maintained that the assault was not motivated by religious hatred.
However, the victims’ families rejected the police’s claim, saying the attackers repeatedly shouted anti-Muslim and caste-based slurs throughout the assault. A family member further said that police advised them not to highlight the victims’ Muslim identity while pursuing the case.
The attack has drawn sharp political criticism, with opposition Rajya Sabha member Syed Naseer Hussain stating that the Hindu nationalist BJP-led Maharashtra government was fostering an atmosphere in which anti-Muslim mob violence has become increasingly normalized and perpetrators continue to enjoy impunity.
