A 45-year-old man named Lalan Singh Kushwaha was allegedly beaten with cricket stumps after he blamed the Prime Minister for long queues outside ATMs in southeast Delhi’s Jaitpur area, said police on Sunday.
The victim received head injuries for making remarks against demonetisation while standing near a queue outside an ATM.
Kushwaha on his complaint said he was on his way to buy a television set on December 15. As he was passing through an ATM, he noticed the long queue. He went near the queue and said ‘Modiji ki wajah se line lagi hai’ (queue is because of PM Modi).
Soon after a man called Atik came out of the crowd and started beating him. Another man Ashiq too joined Atik and allegedly hit Lalan thrice on his head with a cricket stumps. The victim then was taken to a nearby hospital and received three stitches in the head.
“I was not standing in the ATM queue, but I saw people standing and I felt that only poor people are suffering. So I criticised the demonetisaton scheme. Suddenly, one person at a departmental store started abusing me verbally. When I asked him the reason, he started hitting me and asked how I could criticise the PM. Soon after, others joined him. I sustained injuries on my head and started bleeding,” said Kushwaha to the Indian Express.
Kushwaha also alleged that the accused took away ₹6,000 from him.
A case under IPC Sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) was filed. The matter is being probed further, they added.
