Seven Men Arrested For Harassing Muslim Women At Vellore Fort

Seven men, including a juvenile, who harassed Muslim women by asking them to remove their burqa at the Vellore Fort earlier this week have been arrested by the Vellore police on Thursday.

The accused are identified as Irfan Basha (23) of Kaniyambadi, Ibrahim Basha (24) of Karukamputhur, Ashram Basha (20) of Aajipura, Santhosh (22) of Mangai Mandy, Prasanth (20), Mohammed Fayaz (22) of Konavattam, and a 17-year-old juvenile.

According to police officials, the accused were mostly auto drivers. Officials stated that the accused had targeted more than three women who were visiting the Vellore fort with their male friends.

Muslim Women Harassed At Vellore Fort

The video was uploaded on social media on March 27 and showed a Muslim woman with a man. The accused is shown questioning the man about why he had brought along a Muslim woman. The men had demanded that the woman remove her burqa, claiming that she could not hang out with a man wearing a burqa, which is considered sacred. They also suggested that the duo get married immediately if they were in love. The accused had filmed the incident and uploaded it to social media without the duo’s knowledge.

The Vellore (North) Village Administrative Officer (VAO) had registered a complaint, after which the police arrested the accused. SP S Rajesh Kannan told the press that the motive behind the incident is still unknown and that the police are looking into the issue.

He added that police patrolling inside the Vellore fort will be tightened and made permanent. He also warned that severe action will be taken against those who share the video. The police have confiscated the mobile phones of the accused and sent them for forensic investigation.

The six accused were produced at the Vellore court and were sent to judicial custody for 15 days. The juvenile accused was produced before the district magistrate of the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB).

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