For several weeks now, some Muslim-owned shops in Aarla have opened to empty streets, say their owners. Longtime customers have stopped coming. At least one shopkeeper says he is preparing to down his shutters for good and leave in search of work.

This is the result of a social boycott, claimed Aabid Dange, whose family has been at the centre of the crisis. “No one comes to our shops anymore. We have had almost no business for weeks… I am planning to shut my grocery shop and leave the village in search of work,” he said. “We were attacked because we are Muslims, but instead of receiving justice, we are the ones paying the price.”

The boycott, announced on June 9, is the latest turn in a saga that began six weeks earlier: with a question about a missing utensil and an assault involving members of a radical Hindutva outfit.

On April 28, Aabid’s cousin Hussain Dange had asked two young customers who had borrowed utensils from his chicken shop where the pot lid was. Within hours, according to the family, a mob of 40 to 50 men had gathered outside; by the end of the evening Hussain’s left arm had been nearly severed by a meat cleaver.

What followed, the Dange family alleges, was a second ordeal – a police investigation they describe as reluctant and skewed, an attempt-to-murder charge that was added and then quietly dropped even after a hospital certified grievous, potentially fatal injuries, bail for the accused, and a celebratory procession through the village with anti-Muslim slogans. 

When 11 Muslim families marched toward the Bombay High Court’s Kolhapur bench in early June demanding action, officials persuaded them to return home with written assurances. But days later, the boycott began.

This account is drawn from the family’s complaint to the authorities, documents and medical records reviewed by Newslaundry, and interviews with the family, police, and others.

A dispute over a pot lid

According to the complaint by Hussain and his brother Saddam to the Sangli SP and the public grievance cell of the high court’s Kolhapur bench on May 29, the sequence began around 11.30 am on April 28, when six or seven youths from neighbouring Padali village came to Hussain’s shop to buy chicken and borrowed cooking utensils from Hussain. He says he did not charge them and asked only that everything be returned.

When they came back that afternoon, a pot lid and a serving spoon were missing. Hussain questioned them; the youths, who he says appeared heavily drunk, began arguing among themselves, and one threw another’s motorcycle key toward the shop before leaving. About 10 minutes later they returned, handing back the spoon but not the lid. Seeing they were intoxicated, Hussain says he decided to let the matter go.

The youths returned a third time about 15 minutes later, accusing Hussain of taking the motorcycle key and demanding Rs 500. When he refused to pay, they allegedly reached for a weighing scale and the meat cleaver kept inside the shop.

“I told them not to touch anything in my shop, but they started abusing me and threatening to beat me,” Hussain claimed. “When my younger brother Saddam arrived, one of the youths picked up the meat cleaver and chased him, trying to strike him three or four times. He somehow escaped. They stopped only when they noticed my cousin Aamir recording them on his phone.”

The confrontation might have ended there. But according to the complaint, several local Hindutva activists, including Kedar Pargavkar, arrived outside the shop and urged the youths not to leave.

Kedar Pargavkar is affiliated to Shri Shivpratishthan Hindustan, led by Hindutva leader Sambhaji Bhide, who has faced several criminal cases over the years, including for rioting. 

Pargavkar allegedly told the group: “Don’t leave. We’ll show these Muslims the strength of Hindus.” Calls were then made to people in Aarla and nearby villages, the complaint says, and within minutes 40 to 50 people had gathered.

The attack

Hussain says he called Kokrud police twice, at 6.28 pm and 6.34 pm on April 28. Officers arrived around 7.10 pm and initially tried to disperse the crowd, he said. Then, by his account, the situation turned.

“[An officer] repeatedly asked Kedar Pargavkar why he had gathered so many people… But Pargavkar raised slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and shouted, ‘Today we will not spare these Muslims.’ Then Rohit Petkar allegedly incited the crowd… ‘Come on, let’s smash them. Kill the Pakistanis.’ Within seconds, dozens of men carrying sticks, stones and wooden poles rushed towards our shop.”

Hussain alleges he was then struck with the cleaver. “Kedar Pargavkar picked up the meat cleaver and swung it at my neck. I instinctively raised my left arm to protect myself. The blow landed on my arm instead, severing nerves and leaving me bleeding heavily. While attacking me, he shouted, ‘Today I will make you offer your last namaz.’”

Aabid Dange alleged the assault continued even after Hussain collapsed. “When we tried to take Hussain to hospital, the mob attacked us again with sticks and stones. They damaged our vehicle and prevented us from leaving. I suffered injuries all over my back.”

In a reply to the police dated May 12, Aadhar Hospital said Hussain had suffered a 15-cm lacerated wound on his left forearm, muscle tears, a severed left ulnar artery, and heavy blood loss, and described the injuries as grievous.

A charge added, then dropped

The family’s central grievance is with what they say the police did after the attack. 

They allege officers made them wait at Kokrud Police Station from around 9 pm on April 28 until roughly 2 am before beginning to record their complaint. During those hours, the complaint claims, Pargavkar arrived at the station with 50 supporters, and threats were issued to family members.

Hussain claims registering the FIR was itself a struggle. “Even after seeing my condition, the police were reluctant to register the FIR. My family had to struggle for hours before it was finally registered, and even then many of the main accused were left out.” Aabid alleged that officers steered the family away from naming everyone they held responsible. 

Fifteen accused were named in the FIR. These were identified as Kedar Pargavkar, Rohit Petkar, Omkar Patil, Prathmesh Patil, Sahil Bandu Patil, Karan Maali, Suresh Ghodwil, Omkar Jadhav, Vishal Bhashte, Prateek Bhadgule, Pradeep Gurav, Sumit Patil, Rishikesh Bhosale, Ajay Maali and Avinash Maali. 

However, according to the family, six other names, including Vikram Patil, were not included in the FIR. The complaint to the SP on May 29 alleged that Vikram Patil played a role in mobilising the mob and assaulted Hussain’s father as well as their cousins with sticks. Newslaundry could not reach any of these men for comment.

Additionally, the FIR registered on the night of April 28–29 did not invoke Section 109 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with attempt to murder. The family says it approached SP Tushar Doshi to press for the charge. “We showed him photographs of my injuries and my medical reports,” Hussain said. “After that, he instructed the investigating officer to add the attempted murder charge.”

Newslaundry verified that Section 109 was added to the FIR on May 5. But it was removed in the chargesheet the police filed on June 12 despite the hospital confirming the grievous injuries to Assistant Police Inspector Rahul Atigre on May 12. 

Atigre defended the decision when contacted by Newslaundry. He denied the police had been reluctant to register the FIR, saying the names of all the accused had been included. On Section 109, he said: “The victim was admitted to the ICU, so we could not add that section at first. Later, after the family approached the SP, we added Section 109. But after seeking the doctor’s opinion and finding that the injuries were grievous, we removed Section 109 from the chargesheet and instead added the section related to grievous hurt.” 

Asked why the police concluded the attack did not amount to attempted murder, and about the alleged communal motive, Atigre said he was busy and would respond later. He had not done so at the time of publication.

The family further alleges the police turned the case against them. According to the complaint, a cross FIR was registered against Hussain, his father Saddam, and cousins Aabid and Aamir on May 1 on a complaint by Akash Patil of Padali village, who claimed they had abused and assaulted him. “Instead of protecting us, the police registered criminal cases against members of our own family,” Saddam claimed.

Bail, a march, and a boycott

After the accused were granted bail, the family says its troubles sharpened.

On May 21, according to the complaint, supporters of the accused took out a procession through Aarla with DJs and firecrackers. Hussain alleged it was meant to intimidate. “They marched through the village shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and communal slogans like ‘Uthao dande, bhagao laande’,” he said, referring to a slur used against Muslims in Maharashtra. “We informed the police, but no action was taken.”

On June 7, 11 Muslim families left Aarla carrying banners reading “Save the Constitution” and set off toward the Kolhapur bench of the Bombay High Court. Their demands included a court-monitored investigation, a Special Investigation Team, action against Kokrud police officers, restoration of the attempt-to-murder charge, cancellation of the accused’s bail, and withdrawal of the cases against the Dange family. The march ended after about 12 kilometres when officials stopped the group with a written assurance.

Hussain says the administration persuaded them to return with assurances of preventive action against the accused, fresh charges after investigation, and a new investigating officer. 

Then, on June 9, the family says, members of the Sakal Hindu Samaj took out a procession and announced a social boycott of the Muslim families connected to the case.

On June 10, the Officer on Special Duty at the Bombay High Court’s Kolhapur circuit bench wrote to the Sangli SP, asking that the Dange family’s complaint be looked into appropriately and that the family be informed of the action taken at an early date.

But just days later, on June 12, the police filed its chargesheet without considering the family’s requests, such as fresh charges and a new investigation. “Since then our situation has only become worse,” Hussain claimed.

SP Doshi disputed that the whole community had been targeted. “There is no boycott of the entire Muslim community. That has been exaggerated,” he told Newslaundry. “Only a few families who were involved in the incident have been socially boycotted. The rest of the Muslim families are living peacefully.” He acknowledged the assault but said “as of now, the situation in the village is peaceful and normal”.

A backdrop the family traces to 2023

The family argues the attack was not a spontaneous quarrel but the product of years of communal mobilisation. Hussain claims tensions had been building since July 2023. “Several Hindutva leaders held a public meeting in our village and announced the formation of the Kattar Hindu Sena. Hate speeches were made against Muslims and a procession was taken out through the village,” he claimed.

Over three years, he alleged, Ram Navami processions would halt outside the village mosque amid slogans praising Nathuram Godse. “Slowly, the atmosphere in the village changed and the harmony we had lived with for years disappeared. That’s why a small argument over a missing utensil turned into a communal attack. I believe this would never have happened if the shop had belonged to a Hindu.”

Newslaundry reviewed several of the social media posts cited by the family; some contained inflammatory content targeting Muslims. One post, shared by the prime accused, praised Nathuram Godse alongside an image of Mahatma Gandhi.

Twenty-eight-year-old Aamir Mulla, a native of Aarla who now works in Pune, said, “Over the last three to four years, the atmosphere in our village has become heavily communal. Our village was never like this…Earlier, Muslims used to participate in the Ganesh festival, and Hindus would join us in celebrating Eid.”

“After this incident, they announced a boycott of Muslim families. Although it has not turned into a complete boycott, it certainly exists. Some people have stopped speaking to Muslims and stopped buying goods from their shops. It is very unfortunate. Life is becoming increasingly difficult for Muslim families in the village,” he claimed.

Baba Sayyad, a villager, said only “some people who harbour religious hatred” have followed the boycott call. “There were announcements asking people not to do business with Muslims or buy from their shops. However, most villagers who have lived together cordially for years do not follow such diktats.”

For Hussain, the question is as much about dignity as it is about safety. “Don’t we deserve to live with dignity and feel safe in our own village?”

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