New Year’s Day. The boy was returning home from school in Hadapsar, Pune, when they waylaid him. “Is your name Ayaz Mujavar?” they asked.

“Yes,” he replied.

They pounced on him, Ayaz recounted later, spewing communal slurs. They were a group of around 20 young men and five of them beat him so badly his lung was punctured, forearm broken, and back scarred with stab wounds. 

What had he done? 

Two days before, the boy’s father, Zakir Mujavar, had approached the police to cancel a programme scheduled to be addressed by Dhananjay Desai, chief of the Hindu Rashtra Sena, who was accused of orchestrating communal violence in Pune five years ago. The prime accused in the June 2014 murder of techie Mohsin Shaikh, Desai is currently out on bail. 

His bail order states that Desai cannot “in any manner whatsoever” engage in political activity “related to or organised at the behest of Hindu Rashtra Sena or even otherwise”. He has also given an undertaking that he shall restrain his followers and party workers from putting up any “hoarding, banner or poster with his picture”. Further, he “shall not deliver public speeches or work with any organisation” until the trial is over.

The meeting where Desai was to speak was organised by Abhijeet Borate of the Hindavi Swarajya Yuva Sangh. It was to be held at the same place where Mohsin was murdered, allegedly by members of the Hindu Rashtra Sena. This, Zakir feared, could cause communal tension and that is why he had approached the police.

“Dhananjay Desai was to speak at a programme at Satav Plot on January 1. Posters about it were put up at various locations in Hadapsar. The meeting was at the same location where Mohsin was murdered. I raised an objection and submitted two applications, at the office of the Assistant Commissioner of Police in Wanavadi and at Hadapsar police station, to cancel the meeting,” Zakir said. “I gave the applications on December 30. The police issued a notice to Desai to not address the meeting and have the posters removed. They also issued a notice to the organisers to cancel the meeting.”

He didn’t know, Zakir said, that his son would have to face the consequences. “I dropped my son to school in Hadapsar at around 11 am and asked him to return home by bus. In the evening, he was at the bus stop, when a group of boys assaulted him, barely 20 meters away from the police station. I was told about it by people who had helped him to reach the police station. The boys who attacked my son aren’t from his class or school.” 

One of the posters put up in Hadapsar advertising the programme.

Ayaz is still undergoing treatment at Inlaks Budhrani Hospital, Pune. “His lung is punctured, and doctors operated on his arm for three hours,” Zakir said.

Deepak Naik, one of the surgeons who operated on the boy, confirmed this. “He has suffered grievous life-threatening injuries. The sharp-edged weapon traumatised his left lung. His left forearm was also badly damaged and we operated on it. He was stabbed in the upper back as well. Had the weapon penetrated even slightly deeper, he would have died on the spot.”

“Yet, the police have not even registered a case of attempt to murder,” Zakir complained. They have only filed a case of voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons. For two days, I have been trying to explain to the police the involvement of Dhananjay Desai in the attack. But they aren’t paying attention to what I am saying.”

In his complaint, Zakir named both Desai and Borate. But the police identified only one accused by name, Tushar Pawar, in the FIR, and arrested him along with two minors. Two of them have since been released.

Zakir accused the police of “trying to save Dhananjay Desai” by refusing to book him, and of threatening his son while taking his statement in hospital.

Newslaundry has obtained a video which shows Ayaz detailing his purported conversation with Prasad Lonare, the investigating officer from the Hadapsar station. The boy claims that Lonare asked him to say he had assaulted one of his attackers with a meat cleaver. The officer also told him he was lying and that he would prove so from CCTV footage, the boy claims, but he didn’t show any footage to the boy or his family.

Speaking to Newslaundry, Ayaz said, “I was at the bus stop with two friends. Some boys came and asked if my name was Ayaz Mujavar. I said it was. They abused me and said, ‘Our brother’s meeting was cancelled because of your father.’ Then they assaulted me. They went after one of my friends as well but he wasn’t injured. I had never met them before in my life.” 

“The police are not at all cooperating with us,” Zakir complained. “My son was attacked ruthlessly and they are questioning his claims. They are saying it’s a case of an old rivalry. He is 13 years old. And we moved to this locality just two years ago.” 

“My son was attacked,” Zakir insisted, “because I objected to the meeting of Dhananjay Desai.”

Lonare, the investigating officer, repeated the old rivalry theory when Newslaundry contacted him. That’s not all. He went to the extent of essentially blaming the victim for the attack. “He was attacked because of an old rivalry. Three of his attackers are 16 years old. They had fought in school a month ago. The attackers said Ayaz used to threaten them. One accused, Tushar Pawar, said Ayaz was planning to attack him and that’s why he was carrying a meat cleaver, for his personal safety. On the day of incident, when the accused saw Ayaz at the bus stop they felt threatened and attacked him.”

The officer added, “His father’s claim that the boy was assaulted because of his application against the event doesn’t seem to fit because the application did not have Zakir Mujavar’s name. Actually, according to the accused, Ayaz, along with his friends, had gone to the school of the accused boys to threaten them. The accused belong to good families and they didn’t even know who Dhananjay Desai is.”

At least one of Lonare’s claims is demonstrably false: Zakir’s application to the Hadapsar police seeking cancellation of the Satav Plot event did indeed carry his name.

Asked about Zakir’s complaints and the boy’s allegations, Pune police chief K Venkatesham said, “We are investigating the case and will take appropriate action against whoever is involved.”