A roadside vendor was detained by the Bulandshahr police on Tuesday for selling shoes with ‘Thakur’ embossed on the sole. Nasir was taken into custody after a local right-wing leader complained against him.
Vishal Chauhan, the coordinator of Bajrang Dal in Gulaothi town of Bulandshahr, told reporters that he was informed by one of his associates that a Muslim vendor was selling shoes with ‘Thakur’ written on the soles. “We went to his shop and handed him over to the police,” he said.
In a video, an exasperated Nasir could be heard reasoning that the word was embossed by the manufacturer and he didn’t have anything to do with it; the person making the video could be heard chastising him for not being able to hide them when the ‘group’ came.
The police booked Nasir and the Agra-based Thakur footwear company under sections 153A, 323, and 504 of the IPC for promoting enmity and voluntarily causing hurt and intentional insult to provoke breach of peace. The manufacturer has been reported to be in the business for many years.
‘Not arrested’
Denying media reports, Namrita Shrivastava, Circle Officer, Sikandarabad, told The Hindu that Nasir was taken to the police station for interrogation and that he was not arrested.
“We wanted to know about the manufacturer. He told us that he had sourced it from a dealer in Delhi and that he didn’t know that a caste was embossed on the sole of the shoes. He would be released soon,” said Ms. Shrivastava.
On why an FIR was necessary in the case, the Circle Officer said she didn’t know the political affiliation of the complainant. “The police got a complaint and we felt that it could hurt the feelings of a community.” She said this was a region where people flaunt their caste on their vehicles.
