A 26-year-old independent tattoo artist from Nagaland filed a police complaint alleging assault and verbal abuse in Pune's Kondhwa area. Benrushen Menthing Lemo claimed he and his friends were targeted by a group of unidentified individuals on Thursday, December 28th, around 8:30 p.m.
Lemo, residing with his wife in Shivnerinagar, Kondhwa, recounted the incident at Achin's hotel near his home. According to his statement, three individuals on a scooter approached him and his friends, Chingthu Pom and Boto Sumi, while they were having tea. The attackers allegedly struck Chingthu without provocation and hurled insults.
Police arrived at the scene after receiving information, and initial investigation identified Umar Shaikh as the main suspect along with several unidentified accomplices. Lemo and his friends received medical treatment at Sassoon Hospital before filing a formal complaint at Kondhwa police station.
The complaint describes an escalation of the situation when the hotel owner intervened. Lemo alleges further physical and verbal abuse, including being hit with a wooden stick and having a stone thrown at his friend Boto's face. He expressed concern about the recurring nature of such incidents and urged the police to take strict action to deter future assaults.
While an FIR has been registered under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) - 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 149 (member of unlawful assembly), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt with a weapon), 504 (intentional insult), 427 (mischief causing damage), and 352 (assault or criminal force other than on grave provocation) - Inspector Santosh Sonawane from Kondhwa police station clarified that identifying a hate crime at this stage remains challenging.
"We have booked the accused and will take appropriate action based on the investigation," Sonawane stated. "However, determining whether this was motivated by bias against a particular group requires thorough investigation, and it's too early to draw conclusions," he said.