Gurugram Violence Fact Check: Was It Communally Motivated or Not?

In the context of claims and counter-claims, here’s a closer look at some of the facts of the case.

Was the mob violence perpetrated against a Muslim family at their home in Gurugram's Bhondsi district on 21 March communal or not? There are claims, counter-claims and then there are facts.

Some police officials working on this case have repeatedly told The Quint that the attack they are investigating was not communal. This view has also been endorsed/reported by websites like OpIndia and Swarajya.

Here's a closer look at some of the facts of the case.

After this story was published, a cross-FIR was filed in the case against Sajid’s family on 28 March. You can read about this development here. 

1. CLAIM - FIR DOES NOT SAY THE 'VICTIMS WERE ASKED TO GO TO PAKISTAN'

OpIndia: "When asked about this, Gurugram police spokesperson Subhash Boken (...) informed that the FIR filed in the incident also does not mention that the victims were asked to go to Pakistan, and the victims didn’t include any such claim in their complaint."

FACT: The Quint asked the investigation officer, munshi (the accountant) of Bhondsi police station, the investigating officer Charan Singh as well as the Gurugram police PRO for a copy of the FIR but they all refused to share it saying that they either do not have the copy or this reporter could download it online.

A copy of the FIR, accessed by The Quint, mentions a statement of the complainant, Mohammad Dilshad, where he claims that men who came on motorcycles asked them to 'Go to Pakistan.'

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The line reads in Hindi: Vo aake bole, mullah kya kar rahain ho? Pakistan jaake khela (cricket) tatha jhagda karne lage. (They came and said, mullah, what are you doing here? Go and play in Pakistan, and began fighting with us.)

2. CLAIM - MUSLIMS DID NOT MENTION THAT THE ATTACKERS ASKED THEM TO ‘GO TO PAKISTAN’

OpIndia: The article states, "The victims also narrated their ordeal in an interview given to ABP news, and in that interview too they never mentioned that the attackers asked them to ‘Go to Pakistan’."

FACT: This is particularly interesting because at 01:16 mark in the video, Dilshad, whose left arm is injured, clearly says they were told to 'Go to Pakistan and play cricket.' Even in our ground reports and the interview the victims gave to ANI, a news wire agency, the victims have repeated the same version which corresponds with the allegations mentioned in the FIR.

This is the direct link of the interview.

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3. CLAIM - ONE MAN GOT 15 STITCHES WHICH FUELLED THE RETALIATION

Swarajya: Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Sohna, Dinesh Kumar, said a minor scuffle ensued, in which one person was beaten up and sustained at least 15 stitches. The injured person then contacted his friends to take revenge for the alleged assault.

FACT: The Quint contacted Dinesh Kumar who has been quoted in the story, and he said, "I have not said anything like this. There needs to be a medical report that will come to us from a government hospital of someone getting 15 stitches. We do not have that. This is  incorrect." The Quint also confirmed this with Gurugram police PRO Subhash Boken who said, "They have no medical records stating someone got as many stitches or that there is a person in their custody who got 15 stitches."

The Quint also spent time with family members of the accused and not one brought up the issue of the injury.

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4. CLAIM - POLICE INSIST THE CASE IS NOT COMMUNAL IN NATURE

Swarajya: “.....the rumours that it was a communal incident are false,” stated Deputy Commissioner of Police, South Gurugram, Himanshu Garg.

OpIndia reads: Gurugram PRO Subhash Boken confirmed that there was no communal angle in the incident.

UNCLEAR: While it may be likely that the initial fight was triggered by an argument over a game of cricket, the fight did escalate to a point where some participants felt like it was alright for them to tell the Muslims to 'Go to Pakistan and play'.

When The Quint spoke with the family of the accused, they kept referring to the victims as mullah and outsiders. They did not deny the participation of their boys in the attack but also made statements like, "Isn’t it understandable that someone would be angry if they were hit first and as badly?", "Mullo ki itni chal rahi hai. Unki prashasan sun rahaan hai. Humaari kyu nahi sun rahaan hain? (The Muslims are getting their way. The administration is tending to them. Why are they not listening to us?)." The Muslims were “not even residents of Haryana,” the family added.

Gurugram police PRO continued to insist this was not a communal issue. When The Quint asked what then would make for a communal case, he said, "Ab main ye kaise aapko bataau, case case par hota hai. Par iss case main abhi tak kuch communal angle nahi hai. (Now, how do I tell you this, this depends from case to case. However, there is no communal angle in the case till now.")

(This story has been updated to include the development of a cross-FIR being filed by the police against Sajid’s family.)