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MUMBAI: In a culture of impunity, increasing with government inaction every passing day, yet another youth was bludgeoned to death in suburban Mumbai. The six assailants included the son of a policeman.
The victim, 22 year old Afzal Beg died the next day, hours after he was hospitalised. He himself was a resident of Pathanwadi in Malad. The assailants have been arrested only because the entire incident was captured on a CCTV camera in the vicinity that left the police with no alibi.
Beg was riding pillion on a motorcycle with friend Shivanand Mishra. He was waylaid by the police constables son Amol Ghuge and his friends. There was an altercation, Beg was dragged off the bike. Both were initially beaten but Mishra managed to escape on his bike. The CCTV footage showed the brutal attack with all the assailants beating the helpless boy mercilessly with cement paver blocks and glass tube lights. They left him as he lay motionless, but as soon as he moved a little bit in clear agony one of them returned to beat him again. They left, with Beg lying motionless.
Local residents telephoned the police who took Beg to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries after a few hours. It is not clear as yet whether this was a hate crime, as was the case in Pune where a mob had killed the young techie also on a motorcycle for being a Muslim.
Coincidentally 24 year old Moshin Sadiq Shaikh , a resident from Solapur district, and working as a IT manager in Pune was attacked by a right wing outfit, Hindu Rashtra Sena, and bludgeoned to death.
The case of ‘attempt to murder’ registered at the time has been changed to ‘murder’ after Beg’s death.
