Man Held On Leash, Made To Bark Like A Dog In Suspected Hate Crime; Madhya Pradesh Government Orders Bulldozing

A video from Bhopal showing a man held on a leash and ordered to bark like a dog by a mob surfaced on social media this week, promoting Madhya Pradesh government to intervene.

Allegations of religious hate and conversion attempts have also emerged in the case. The victim is Hindu while the attackers are from the Muslim community.

The 45-second video shows a man, clad in a black shirt with a belt around his neck, being harassed by a crowd of men. The victim is heard sating, “Sahil bhai mera baap hai, mera bada bhai hai. Meri maa unki maa hai (Sahil is my father, my elder brother, my mother is his mother).”

The attackers can be heard asking the youth to bark like a dog.

After the video emerged on social media, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra said that kind of behaviour was condemnable and he had ordered Bhopal police commissioner to launch an investigation into the case and submit the report in 24 hours.

After allegations of forced religious conversion emerged, the state government has also ordered the National Security Act to be invoked and the accused’s houses to be bulldozed.

Details Of The Case

As per a Dainik Bhaskar report, the man, in his complaint to the police, said that the incident took place on 9 June and the attackers were namely Bilal, Sameer, Mufeed and Sahil. They beat him up and said, “Tu miyan ban ja. Bade ka maans khane lag. Tu darpok hai, tere mein jigar nahi hai (you should become Muslim and start eating beef. You are a coward.)” 

As per news reports, the family of the victim told the media that Sahil and his gang were forcing Vijay to consume drugs, eat meat and convert from his religion. The family also said that the gang made Vijay rob his own house.

As per the family, the trigger of the incident was that Vijay had threatened to upload a video related to the behaviour of the gang.

Members of Bajrang Dal staged a protest outside Teela Jamalpura Police Station in Bhopal today (19 June). The state government has ordered National Security Act to be invoked against the accused and their houses to be bulldozed, as per the Dainik Bhaskar report.