Aurangabad: Youth held for assault on Muslim man, forcing him to chant slogan

AURANGABAD: The crime branch of the city police has arrested one of the suspects who was allegedly part of a mob that assaulted a Muslim youth and forced him to chant 'Jai Shri Ram' early on Friday morning. It was a Hindu couple that came to the rescue of the youth.
The accused has been identified as Ganesh Vinod Sonawne, a 21-year-old resident of N-13, Bharatnagar.He was produced before the holiday court on Sunday, following which he has been remanded in a day's police custody.
During the preliminary probe, police have found that the accused already has a criminal record. They are trying to obtain his complete record from police stations across the city.
Authorities have said that Sonwane was arrested by the crime branch immediately after confirming his involvement in the incident. Begumpura police inspector Sachin Sanap said: "The crime branch nabbed the suspect and handed him over to us. Our priority is to identify his accomplices and nab them at the earliest."
Imran Ismail Patel, 28, who works as a waiter at a restaurant, was allegedly waylaid by the suspects while he was returning home from work on a motorcycle. The incident took place near the Hudco corner. The suspects allegedly snatched the key of Patel's vehicle and one of them tried hitting him on the head with a stone.
It was Ganesh Kale, a resident of the same area, and his wife, who upon noticing the incident, rushed to Patel's rescue. They ensured that he went home safe. The couple is being hailed by people from across the communities.
Later that day, the complainant had gone to the Begumpura police station and based on his complaint unidentified suspects were booked by on the charges of provoking enmity or feelings of hatred between different groups on the grounds of religion or caste. In addition to this, the suspects have also been booked on the charges of voluntarily causing hurt, unlawful assembly and rioting.