Lynching of Muslim techie while returning from Masjid: All 20 radical Hindutva activists acquitted

News Network

January 28, 2023

Pune: A local court in Pune has acquitted all accused, including Hindu Rashtra Sena chief Dhananjay Jayram, in the case of lynching of Mohsin Shaikh, 28, in 2014. The court of additional Sessions judge SB Salunkhe, acquitted all accused in the case, defence lawyer Sudhir Shah said.

As many as 21 activists of the Hindu Rashtra Sena, a radical outfit, were booked in the case. Twenty of them were arrested by the police while one of them turned out to be a minor. All accused were later released on bail.

The case dates back to June 2, 2014, when Mohsin, an engineer by profession, was attacked while he was returning after offering prayers at a mosque in Hadapsar. The attack came in the wake of tensions prevailing in the city after certain objectionable images of Shivaji Maharaj and Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray were circulated on social media.

As per the FIR lodged by Mohsin’s brother at the Hadapsar police station in Pune, the assailants, allegedly owing allegiance to the HRS, intercepted Mohsin and his friend Riyaz Ahmed at Satav Plot in Unnati Nagar around 9.15 PM. “As Mohsin had a beard, a skull cap and was wearing a light green Pathani shirt, they attacked him with hockey sticks and banged a cement block on his head,” the FIR reads.

Mohsin died after a few hours while being treated at a hospital.

Initially, senior advocate Ujjwal Nikam was appointed as the Special Public Prosecutor in the case on the request by Mohsin’s family to then Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan. However, Nikam’s appointment was opposed by Anjum Inamdar of the Rashtrapremi Kruti Samiti on June 12, 2014, citing Nikam’s links to right-wing groups.

Nikam’s appointment as the SPP was also opposed by Congress’ Rajya Sabha MP Hussain Dalwai in July 2014. Eventually, Nikam requested that his appointment be cancelled, which the government accepted in 2017. The case was subsequently argued by Ujjwala Pawar and later by Dhaigude Patil.

“It is unfortunate that all the accused were acquitted due to lack of evidence. We will support Mohsin’s family in the legal battle further,” Inamdar said.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

Israel killing Palestinian children in Gaza every day despite ceasefire: UNICEF

News Network

November 22,2025

The Israeli regime’s forces have killed two Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip every day since the ceasefire began in early October, UNICEF has warned.

The UN children’s agency said on Friday that Israeli forces continue to attack Palestinians in Gaza even though the agreement was meant to stop the killing.

“Since 11 October, while the ceasefire has been in effect, at least 67 children have been killed in conflict-related incidents in the Gaza Strip. Dozens more have been injured. That is an average of almost two children killed every day since the ceasefire took effect,” UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires said in Geneva, reminding that each number in the statistics represents a child whose life had ended violently.

“These are not statistics,” he said. “Each child had a story, a family, and a future that was stolen from them.”

Data from Palestinian factions, human rights groups, and government bodies recorded since the US-brokered ceasefire deal went into effect on October 10 show that Israeli forces have carried out numerous attacks, each constituting a separate ceasefire violation.

UNICEF teams say they repeatedly continue to witness heart-wrenching scenes of fearful Palestinian children sleeping outdoors with amputated limbs, while others live as orphans in flooded, makeshift shelters.

“I saw this myself in August. There is no safe place for them. The world cannot normalize their suffering,” Pires said, lamenting that the UN could “do a lot more if the aid that is really needed was entering faster.”

The UNICEF spokesperson warned that with the advent of winter, the risks for hundreds of thousands of displaced children will increase.

He warned, “The stakes are incredibly high” for children as winter acts as a threat multiplier, where children have no heating, no insulation, and few blankets. He said respiratory infections rise.

“Too many children have already paid the highest price,” Pires said. “Too many are still paying it, even under a ceasefire. The world promised them it would stop and that we would protect them.”

“Now we must act like it,” the UNICEF spokesperson added.

Since the Israeli regime launched its genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza in October 2023, it has killed nearly 70,000 people in the territory, most of them women and children, and injured over 170,000 more, while reducing most of the structures in the enclave to rubble.

Comments