Seven persons including a juvenile were arrested on Thursday for allegedly forcing a woman to remove her hijab at Vellore Fort Complex in Tamil Nadu.
The arrested were identified as K. Santosh (23), Imran Pasha (24), Mohammed Faisal (21), Ibrahim Basha (24), Mohammed Faisal (23) and C. Prasanth (23). The arrested juvenile was kept in a childcare home. Most of the arrested were auto drivers in the vicinity.
According to IANS, S. Rajesh Kannan, Superintendent of Police, Vellore said, "The seven people are arrested for intentional insult and wanton vilification."
The police said, the woman wearing a hijab was at Vellore fort on the noon of March 27 along with her male friend, when the arrested men intercepted her.
The accused then asked the woman's friend why he brought the woman along with him and demanded that she removes her burqa. They reportedly told him that the woman cannot wear a burqa and hang out with him since the burqa was sacred.
One of the accused also allegedly took a video of the incident and shared the video of the woman removing the hijab on social media.
The North Police of Vellore registered a case after Village Administrative Officer gave a complaint on Wednesday.
Based on the complaint, the police formed five special teams and nabbed the accused on Thursday.
The seven were arrested on charges of endangering public safety, a threat to personal freedom, intention to create enmity between two section of people and also acting against the modesty of women, as per IANS.
The police said that those circulating the video on social media would be charged under Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Woman Act and Information Technology (IT) Act.
Further investigations are on, said Vellore Superintendent of Police.
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