Zomato delivery boy assaulted with sticks and bricks on Holi

On February 7, on the occasion of Holi, a troubling and upsetting incident of hate crime was reported from Bajrang Nagar area of Nanded city of Maharashtra. A Muslim student named Amran Tamboli, a first year law student, was delivering food as a Zomato delivery boy when he was attacked by goons. A closed-circuit television camera video showing the attack has been doing rounds on social media. In the closed-circuit television footage, the suspects can be seen attacking the youth, slapping and kicking him. The video showed that the goons attacked Amran with sticks, threw bricks at him, and then put colour on his beard and tilak on his forehead. The food delivery boy can be seen losing balance and falling along with his bike. The footage showed the customer, whom he had delivered the food, coming to his rescue and saving his life.

The full video can be viewed here:

According to the Times of India, after the video of Amran Tamboli being abused and assaulted went viral, the Nanded district police swung into action and registered a FIR against four suspects. According to Amran, “I lodged a complaint with the area police station, but they said they will contact me in a few days. Later, I went to the hospital to have my medical examination. The police responded on Saturday after the video was widely shared on social media and filed a FIR,” as reported by TOI. 

“The allegations are serious,” said Superintendent of Police, Shrikrishna Kokate, to TOI. He further said that the police will investigate the situation and take appropriate action. “We have identified four suspects caught on the closed-circuit television camera, and one of them has been arrested,” said Abinash Kumar, the additional superintendent of police, reiterating him. He also provided that their teams are on the lookout for the remaining three. In reference to Inspector Sahebrao Narwade, who is facing allegations for his reluctance to register a first information report on the basis of the food delivery boy’s complaint, the additional SP stated that the police will be investigating as to why the area police inspector took so long to respond, did not respond to calls or text messages.

Tamboli is the eldest son of a farmer couple. He started working as a food delivery driver to help pay for his legal education. “After receiving an order for food delivery, I picked up food from a local restaurant and arrived at Bajrang Nagar,” he explained to TOI. Narrating the incident, he said that ” I was delivering the food and checking other orders on my phone when three or four young men arrived and began abusing and assaulting me. They even threw stones and bricks at me. One of them even picked up a wooden log and threw it at me.” He had further claimed that one of the suspects returned with the color and forcibly applied it to his beard and put a tilak on his forehead.

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