Four booked for beating up migrant worker near Shimla

Amid the controversy regarding alleged illegal mosques as well as rise in the number of illegal migrants in the state, four persons have been booked for beating up and threatening a migrant hawker in Dhami, around 30 km from Shimla.

The matter came to light through a video in which a person is seen demanding Aadhaar Card from a hawker riding a bike. When the migrant was unable to produce the card, the person proceeded to slap him several times while using abusive language against him.

The accused also subjected the victim to “murga” punishment while threatening to kill him with a sword. He was also heard asking his associate to bring the sword.

In the video, locals can be heard asking the hawker “when he had been told to not to come to the village, why did he come back?”

Shimla SP Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi confirmed the report and said further investigation was on. It may be recalled that some areas of the state had witnessed a movement against alleged illegal mosques and unidentified migrants, launched by some Hindu outfits. In September, some outfits had demanded that the state government should ensure proper the verification of the unidentified migrants in the state.

Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sanjay Chauhan, in a social media post, has condemned the incident and appealed to the government to take legal action against the culprits.

Chauhan wrote, “Such a shameful incident can never be justified in an educated, civilised and peaceful state like Himachal Pradesh. For the past few days, some selfish elements in the state are conspiring to spoil the mutual brotherhood and harmony by creating communal frenzy in the state and work is being done to defame the state. Tourism and other businesses in the state are getting affected due to such incidents. Due to this, the livelihood of lakhs of families in the state is getting affected. The government should take immediate legal action against such elements.”