A Muslim man was physically assaulted by a group of right-wing women associated with Durga Vahini and Vishwa Hindu Parishad at a book fair for allegedly noting down their contacts in Bhopal’s Ujjain on Monday.
Virak Saleem, a native of Gurdaspur in Punjab had set up a book stall at the Ujjain’s book fair that began on September 1. A few women came to his shop to buy books and later accused him of ‘molesting them’.
Madhya Pradesh Police has booked Saleem under section 354 (intent to outage women’s modesty/ molestation) and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (criminal intimidation) accusing him of asking women to write their address/ contact details.
A video of the incident that surfaced on social media shows Saleem surrounded by a herd of women and some men. The group of women led by VHP’s District Vice President Ritu Kapoor barged inside Saleem’s bookstall.
Before Saleem could explain or say anything these women dragged him by his collar, thrashed him, and took him out of the book fair. The video also suggests that women slapped Saleem multiple times and abused him.
As he sits down on the ground, he is kicked by a man.
During the assault, his wallet was taken away his Aadhar was checked to confirm his identity, and his mobile phone was also broken.
While all this was happening, no customer or fair management intervened to investigate the matter or even stop women from assaulting him publicly. Some men can also be seen in the video as bystanders.
Later he was handed over to the police and a complaint alleging misconduct, inappropriate touch, and seeking contact numbers of women was also filed.
Saleem had travelled from Gwalior to Ujjain for the book fair and the head office of his publication is located in Gurdaspur, Punjab. In another video that surfaced, Saleem explained his position and said that he was framed in the case.
He said, “I didn’t know about their intentions, they asked about specific books and then requested a Hindi version of the Quran. I explained that I didn’t have a copy and suggested they could purchase it online. They provided their contact information, and also said that they were school teachers.”
Saleem further said that if the police and women still find him guilty, they can send him to the police station. He also apologized with folded hands and said, “If these sisters thought otherwise, I apologize with folded hands”, addressing the women sisters who assaulted him.
