Case of Sexual Harassment From Ambala Shared With Communal Spin

Ambala police officials confirmed that the accused is not a Muslim but one Pawan Kumar.

A video of women stripping a man and beating him up for allegedly sexually harassing a five-year-old girl is being shared with a claim that the accused is Muslim. 

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

CLAIM

A video doing the rounds on social media is being shared with a claim that a Muslim man, who attempted to rape a 5-year-old in Haryana’s Ambala, was stripped naked and beaten up by women in the area.

The claim shared along with the video reads: “Haryana के अंबाला में एक शान्तिप्रिय समुदाय के युवक ने 5 साल की लड़की से रेप करने की कोशिश की जिसमें वहां की महिलाओं ने पकड़ कर उसको नंगा करके घुमाया। ऐसे घिनौनी सोच वाले व्यक्ति को त्वरित कार्यवाही करते हुए फांसी पर लटका देना चाहिए, जिंदा रहा तो (A person belonging to the “peaceful community” in Haryana’s Ambala attempted to rape a 5-year-old girl. He was caught by women in the area who stripped him naked and beat him up. Strict action must be taken against a personal with such mentality and he should be hanged.)”

An archived version of the tweet can be found here. (Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

The video is also being shared widely on Facebook with the same claim.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

TRUE OR FALSE?

The Quint could confirm that while the incident is true and it happened at the Jain Bazaar area in Ambala, it is being shared with a false communal angle. The accused in the case is not Muslim but one Pawan Kumar, who is a resident of Ambala city.

WHAT WE FOUND?

We reached out to Inspector Sunita, SHO, Women Police Station Ambala, who told us that Kumar is accused of sexually harassing three girls, all aged five years.

“The victims have alleged that the accused, Kumar, would flash his private parts at them on their way to school. When one of them complained to her mother, she followed the girls and caught Kumar harassing the girls. It was then that women in the area stripped him and beat him up,” she said.

The police also informed us that an FIR has been registered against Kumar under Section 12 of POCSO Act.

We also came across a news report by The Times Of India, which corroborated these details.

(Source: The Times of India)

Clearly, the case is being shared with a false communal angle.

(The story has also been debunked by AltNews.)

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