Before demanding citizenship proof from Kargil veteran’s family, mob barged into another Muslim home

On the night of July 26, a mob of Hindutva sympathisers forcibly entered the home of a Kargil war veteran’s family in Pune’s Chandan Nagar, accused his family of being Bangladeshi and demanded to see documents proving that they were Indian. Hours before, the same mob had similarly harassed another Muslim family who lived three houses away.

In both instances, the mob was accompanied by police officials.

As outrage over the incident grew, the police filed a first information report against seven Bajrang Dal workers who had raided the homes.

“In the garb of looking for illegal migrants, Muslims are being harassed,” said Shamshad Sheikh, whose uncle fought in the Kargil War. Sheikh and his family members were among those forced to go to the police station in the middle of the night with their documents.

“Several from our family served in the army, but we have been harassed to prove our nationality,” Sheikh said.

So far, 16 people have been named in a first information report, Chandan Nagar Police Inspector Seema Dhakne told Scroll.

Pradeep Jagannath Dhumal, the police hawaldar at the police station who is the main complainant, said that the initial FIR named seven people. “All of them are Bajrang Dal members,” Dhumal told Scroll over the phone.

Dhakne admitted to Scroll that...

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