By Anmol Alphonso
A video showing a few policemen nursing their injuries after being attacked by a vigilante mob that demanded the custody of a rape and murder accused in Maharashtra's Jalgaon district is being shared with a false and communal claim that the accused is a Muslim.
BOOM found that rape and murder accused arrested by Jalgaon Police has been identified as Subhash Bhil and not Hafiz Beg as is being falsely claimed on social media.
BOOM reached out to Jalgaon Collector Office who also confirmed the accused is not a Muslim, and the accused and murdered victim belong to the same caste and community.
The viral video of injured police officers was posted on X by the handle Amitabh Chaudhary (@MithilaWaala) with the caption, "In Jalgaon district of Maharashtra, Hafiz Beg(35) rap£d killed a 6 year old girl, Nearly a dozen police men were injured after stones were pelted by people demanding the custody of the r@pist killer."
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FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the rape and murder accused arrested by Jalgaon Police has been identified as Subhash Bhil and not Hafiz Beg as being falsely claimed in social media posts.
We found news reports of policemen injured by a mob after the rape and murder of a minor girl in Chinchkheda village in Jamner, Jalgaon disrict, Maharashtra, where the mob demanded that the accused be handed over to them. The news reports identified the accused as Subhash Bhil (35) who was nabbed by Jalgaon Police.
At least 14 policemen were injured trying to save a rape accused from a mob lynching in Jalgaon district on June 20, 2024, according to The Asian Age. The incident occurred on June 20, after police arrested Bhil for the rape and murder of a six-year-old girl, after he had been absconding for days. Villagers, learning of the arrest, surrounded the police station, demanding the accused be handed over and subsequently attacked and injured the officers.
The minor victim is from a tribal family in Chinchkheda village in Jamner was raped and murdered on June 11 by the the accused, who was the neighbour of the victim, and had been absconding since. He was later arrested from Bhusawal about 29 km from Jamner. The police had registered an FIR against Bhil under section 376 and 302 of IPC and relevant sections of POCSO (The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act reported The Asian Age.
The police brought Bhil to Jamner police station in handcuffs and a mob of around 300 people surrounded the station demanding the accused be handed over to them, and after violence broke out with several police officers getting injured, the article further stated.
The report further added quoting officials stating that the accused was caught on CCTV camera of the Gram Panchayat Office, while he was taking the victim to a temple hall and then to a field after giving her a puffed rice cone worth Rs 5 on for “pressing his legs”. The accused had escaped into the field and forest areas after raping and murdering the child.
"Accused and victim both belong to same community and are not Muslim:" Jalgaon District Collector Office
BOOM then reached out to Ayush Prasad, District Collector Jalgaon, whose office confirmed to us that the accused and victim are from the same community.
"The accused and the victim are both from the same caste and community. The accused does not belong to the Muslim community," an official from Jalgaon Collector Office told BOOM.
