He is traumatised, says family of teen out on bail after post on Nupur Sharma
India Today
Saad Ansari, who was arrested by the Mumbai Police for supporting BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma on social media, is traumatised, his family said.
The family of Saad Ansari, who was arrested by the Mumbai Police after a group of Muslims lodged a complaint against him for indirectly supporting BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma on social media, said he is traumatised and needs time to recover.
The 19-year-old engineering student from Mumbai's Bhiwandi was released on bail on June 27. Saad Ansari's family said that he needs time to recover from the trauma he went through over the past couple of weeks.
After Saad posted in support of Nupur Sharma's uncharitable remarks on Prophet Muhammad, a frenzied crowd calling itself Ashiq-e-Rasool (Lovers of the Prophet) menacingly surrounded his house in Bhiwandi that night in June. They surrounded his house, abused and slapped him and forced him to recite the Shahada (the belief in oneness of God), according to a news report.
“He is undergoing treatment for depression for the last two years and we feel perhaps it was the overdose owing to which he put out the post. He should now be left alone and given time to recover. The family is shattered,” said a person close to the family.
A family member not wanting to be named or come on camera said that the family was worried for the safety of the child and hence he had been moved to a safer location.
“We trust the law and police but all those who slapped and abused Saad also need to be punished for the crime they committed,” said a person close to the family.
Saad Ansari’s first bail plea on June 20 was rejected. Taking to India Today TV Saad Ansari’s lawyer Narayan Iyer said that the college student was just expressing his views and he was not inciting any form of violence or hurting any religious sentiments.
