In a brutal case of intolerance, an 80-year-old Hindu man was savagely beaten up by a police constable in Pakistan for eating and selling food just 40 minutes before Iftaar outside his house in Ghotki. Publicly eating or drinking during Roza hours is banned in Pakistan.
According to the reports, the IG of Sindh Police ordered the arrest of Ali Hussain after the family of Gokal Das posted pictures of the octogenarian who was beaten and bruised badly.
The pictures caused a massive social media uproar, and ultimately led to the arrest of the constable in question.
“The incident occurred last Thursday in Ghotki where Das was selling Iftaari items before Iftaar and Hussain claimed he also saw him eating a banana,” a local police official said. “The constable showed high-handedness in dealing with the matter and he thrashed the old man who was rescued by citizens.”
Hussain, who was posted in Ghotki district, has been arrested on charges of torturing and injuring Das after Vinod Kumar, Das’s grandson, registered an FIR against.
The cop Ali Hassan who beat up #GokalDas is now under police custody in Ghotki, Sindh. pic.twitter.com/Y4DIKuE9Go
— Naila Inayat (@nailainayat) June 12, 2016
Bachal Qazi, the Station House Officer of the Jawar police station in whose jurisdiction the village falls said that the constable and his brother “threw the old man on the ground and beat him badly before people rescued him.”
Even former PM Benazir Bhutto’s daughter tweeted about the incident:
A policeman in #Ghotki beat up an elderly Hindu man 4 eating before iftar. The policeman has been arrested #ZeroTolerance #Justice4GokalDas
— Bakhtawar B-Zardari (@BakhtawarBZ) June 11, 2016
Social and civil right activists as well as ordinary citizens criticised the brutal act exhibited by the policeman in their social media posts and demanded exemplary punishment for him.
If our law justifies ban on public eating during roza; then beef ban in India & hijab ban in France are also justified. #apartheid
— Nudrrat Khawaja (@NudrratKhawaja) June 11, 2016
An online movement to crowdfund Das’s treatment has also been launched.
I have started this campaing for #GokalDas, police brutality victim in #Pakistan, plz #donate & share. https://t.co/esBQRZ37IN via @gofundme
— Asim Yousafzai, Ph.D (@asimusafzai) June 12, 2016
(Inputs from PTI)
(Feature Image Source: Twitter/@jagranNews)