Leash around neck, man forced to bark: MP police arrest 3 accused, demolish their homes

Police have identified six accused – Sajid, Bilal Tila, Faizan Lala, Sahil Bachha, Mohammad Sameer Tila, and Mufeed Khan.

DCP Riyaz Iqbal said, “A video of the incident from a month ago has been going viral since last night. Taking cognizance of the matter, we registered an FIR on charges of forced conversion and kidnapping. The names of six people have come to the fore, out of which three have criminal records. The three have been detained. These accused have also acquired property over the years by committing crimes and we are investigating illegal properties and making a list.”

Until two months ago, Ramchandani (24) used to stay in Bhopal’s Teela Jamalpura, where the accused persons also live.

“I used to get into constant fights with them. My mistake was that once I wrote some abuses on social media against one of them. On May 9, when I was returning from a wedding, they kidnapped me, took me to an abandoned spot and assaulted me. They tied a leash around my neck and humiliated me… I was unable to breathe properly, I was terrified,” he told The Indian Express.

Ramchandani, who works as an agriculture agent, said he had been trying to get a police complaint registered against the accused, but in vain. “They kept blaming me for the incident. At the time, I did not have any proof. Recently, I managed to get hold of the video from the accused, who were extorting money from me. So I uploaded that video on social media and it went viral,” he said.

In the video, one of the men can purportedly be seen holding a leash as others ask Ramchandani to apologise over a social media post. He can be heard saying sorry and that he has not done anything.

Omesh Kumar Tiwari, an officer posted at Teela Jamalpura police station, said Sahil, Sameer and Mufeed have been sent to judicial custody. “We are proposing invoking the NSA (national security act) against the accused. Illegal encroachments at three places were destroyed today. Sameer has 26 cases from 2013 to 2022 against him and is a bad character of the area. The accused persons were using that video to blackmail the victim, ” he told The Indian Express.

On Monday evening, local administration demolished properties belonging to the accused. The family members whose homes were demolished claimed they were not given prior notice or time to approach authorities with their documents.

Faizan Khan, one of the absconding accused, used to work at a local cloth shop. His family of six used to stay in a one-room home paying rent of Rs 1,500. Faizan’s mother Sheeba said, “He has been arrested three times in the past…. We are now looking for a new home.”

Sahil was staying at his grandfather’s home, where the local administration demolished a portion of the room. “His grandfather had opened up his home to the family in times of trouble… The administration did not give us any notice,” said a family member.

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Sameer was released from jail around two months ago. He was not on talking terms with his family. His father Mohd Salim (57), who drives an e-rickshaw, said, “My son used to visit every six months and soon the police would come knocking. This time they demolished our home.” His family said the local administration broke their bathroom, kitchen and two walls.