Pune: Moments after killing the 28-year-old Muslim IT professional, his alleged killers, belonging to a Hindu extremist outfit, exchanged an ominous message on their mobiles. The message written in the Marathi language said, 'Pahili wicket padli', which means: The first wicket has fallen.
"The message was circulated immediately after about 25 members of the Hindu extremist outfit allegedly bludgeoned Shaikh to death," Hindustan Times quoted Pune joint commissioner of police Sanjay Kumar as saying.
The message was circulated by members of the Hindu Rashtra Sena who have been accused of killing Mohsin Sadiq Shaikh during Monday's protests over the morphed pictures of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray and Maratha ico Shivaji, which were taken off the social networking site on Friday.
Hindu Rashtra Sena is an outfit having radical Hindutva views and works closely with other radical Hindutva groups. Considering the content of the message exchanged by the accused and the weapons they were carrying, the police are probing whether the attack was planned in advance.
Shaikh was reportedly assaulted near his rented home in Bankar Colony, Hadapsar, as he was returning with a friend, Riyaz, after offering namaz at a masjid, around 9 pm.
Riyaz alleged that Moshin was targeted because he was wearing a skull cap and had a beard.
"I ran from the spot and called his brother Mobin for help. However, by the time Mobin came, Mohsin was badly beaten up and the assailants were about to leave," he told The Indian Express.
The police have arrested seven people who are aged between 19 and 24 years said to be associated with the Hindu Rashtra Sena.
The Crime Branch also called Hindu Rashtra Sena chief Dhananjay Desai for questioning. He was later arrested in connection with an earlier case at Pune Cantonment police station, relating to distribution of objectionable pamphlets in March this year.
The brutal killing of the Muslim engineer is being widely condemned by political parties and also non politicial groups.
"This killing isn't a stray incidence without larger implications. With the coming of power of the new government, the Hindutva organizations are emboldened to intensify violence and polarize communities", the All India Secular Forum (AISF) said in a statement.
Congress spokesperson Shashi Tharoor told reporters that the party expressed its "deep condolences to the family and loved ones of 24-year-old Mohsin Sadiq".
Tharoor added that the death of Sadiq was a "very serious indictment of some of the extreme beliefs that have been allowed to take hold in the imaginations of certain people".
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