Pune, March 14 Five people were injured after a mob attacked a group of Muslim youths who were preparing to break their fast (during Ramadan) near Pune. Following this, the police detained over a dozen individuals, an official said on Saturday.
The incident took place around 6:30 pm on Friday near a pond in the Askarwadi area under the jurisdiction of the Saswad police station, he said.
According to the First Information Report, complainant Firoz Javed Sayyed (25) and ten of his friends were preparing to break their fast when about 100 people arrived on motorcycles and began questioning them.
The individuals allegedly asked the youths if they owned the place, told them to remove their skull caps, and demanded to know why they were dressed in a "particular" manner, the FIR said.
The mob then allegedly abused the group and assaulted them using sharp weapons, including a "koyta" (a sickle-like blade) and sticks, the complainant told the police.
"Four to five of the youths suffered injuries and were taken to the hospital. They were subsequently discharged," an official said.
A case has been registered under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita concerning voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means, unlawful assembly, rioting, and intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace, and the Arms Act, he said.
"We have so far detained 10 to 15 suspects. Multiple teams have been formed to trace other accused," said senior inspector Kumar Kadam from the Saswad police station, adding that further investigation into the incident is underway.