UP job seeker’s arm chopped off in suspected hate crime

MEERUT: A Saharanpur man’s arm was chopped off by some local men in Panipat allegedly after they saw a religious tattoo on his hand. Ikhlaq Salmani, 28, had gone to the Haryana town in search of a job and was resting in a park in Kishanpura colony when the attackers accosted him and upon learning his name thrashed him. Salmani is a resident of Nanauta locality in UP's Saharanpur district. He is now recovering from the incident that happened on the night of August 23.
An FIR based on a complaint by his family was registered on September 7, nearly two weeks after the incident, when Ikhlaq was declared fit to give a statement by doctors at Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS), Rohtak, where he was kept under observation.
On the same day, another FIR was registered at Chandni Bagh police station alleging that Ikhlaq sexually assaulted a 7-year-old boy in the area. Based on a complaint of the uncle of the minor victim and a medico-legal report dated August 27, an FIR under section 323 and under relevant sections of the POCSO Act was also registered.
"The boy claimed that he was sodomised by Ikhlaq following which an FIR was registered on September 7. His statement was later recorded in court. The family of the minor victim has admitted roughing up Ikhlaq but there was no mention of severing his arm," said Ankit Nandal, SHO at Chandni Bagh police station.
"Hours after the first assault in the park, a thirsty Ikhlaq knocked on the door of a house in the area asking for water. Unfortunately for Ikhlaq, the house was owned by the same people who had earlier roughed him up. This time, he was pulled inside and was brutally assaulted. His right arm below the elbow, with 786 tattooed on the palm, was amputated with a saw machine," Ikram Salmani, the elder brother of Ikhlaq said.
He (Ikhlaq) was then thrown near the railway track and regained consciousness only in the morning of August 24, following which his family and local police at GRP Panipat were alerted. A zero FIR under sections 326, 323 and 34 was lodged at GRP Panipat on September 7. The case was later transferred to Chandni Bagh police station in Panipat.
Ikhlaq was discharged on September 8 and was brought to his native place in Saharanpur.
"We are yet to take a medical opinion on the severed arm -- whether a sharp weapon was used to chop it off or it was caused by an accident on the railway track. Investigation in the matter is on," said SHO Nandal.