‘I’m not Arshad’: Man claims he was mistaken for a criminal, wrongfully kidnapped and imprisoned

Last updated:Nov 13, 2024 3:52 PM IST

Azhar described the attack in detail, stating that he kept telling them, “I am Azhar, not Arshad”, but they did not listen.

Azhar said he was on his way home from a local tea stall when a group of men kidnapped him. (Representative image/News18)

In a bizarre sequence of events, a man in Madhya Pradesh’s Katni district claimed he was wrongly kidnapped, brutally beaten and then sent to jail after being mistaken for another individual. The victim, identified as Sheikh Azhar Mansoori, a resident of Kaimor, filed a formal complaint with the Katni Superintendent of Police, alleging a series of serious lapses, including mistaken identity, police negligence and wrongful detention.

According to Azhar, he was returning home after visiting a local tea stall when a group of men kidnapped him. The attackers, including persons named Pappu Sharma, Nilesh Rajak, Razzaq and Balla Santosh Kewat, reportedly grabbed him at Chaman Chowk and accused him of being someone called ‘Arshad’. Despite Azhar’s repeated protests that his name was Azhar and not Arshad, the group allegedly beat him with sticks at a nearby location, NTRC (National Transport and Research Centre).

Describing the kidnapping in detail, Azhar said he kept telling them, “I am Azhar, not Arshad,” but they did not listen. “They kept hitting me,” he said. The group, he alleged, then took him to the local police station, where they falsely accused him of an unrelated crime and had him arrested under Section 151 of the Indian Penal Code. This provision allows for preventive detention, which is typically used when authorities believe someone is about to commit a criminal offense.

The victim further revealed that even at the police station, despite his insistence on his identity, both the police officers and a doctor who examined him failed to recognize the mistake. “I kept telling the police officers and the doctor that I am Azhar, not Arshad. But no one paid attention,” he says.

Upon his release from prison, Azhar was informed by his family members that people close to him were allegedly trying to harm him, believing him to be the person they had been told he was. This, he claimed, is why he was now forced to seek justice through a formal complaint.

In a twist, one of the suspects, Santosh Kewat, claimed that Azhar was detained by the group over an alleged incident of molestation involving a woman, which they attributed to him. Kewat stated, “We did not know whether his name was Azhar or Arshad. We have just taken him to the Kaimor police station and handed him over.” However, this explanation does little to clarify the mistaken identity that led to the violence and wrongful detention.

The case caused shock and disbelief among local authorities. Katni’s Additional Superintendent of Police Santosh Kumar Deharia expressed surprise over the unfolding details of the case. “This is indeed a very unusual case,” Deharia said. “We are collecting all relevant facts and a thorough investigation will be conducted at the police station level,” he added.

Location:

Madhya Pradesh, India