Asim Hussain, 42, a businessman from Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh was beaten onboard a train on January 12 and allegedly forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans.
Huneza Khan | TwoCircles.net
NEW DELHI — The incident of a Muslim man being beaten on a moving train in Uttar Pradesh has evoked a strong reaction from All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi.
Owaisi was reacting to the video that was going viral on social media.
“He was forced to strip and chant JSR slogans. RSS’s Mohan mentioned about ‘Hazaar Saal Ki Jung’. Is this another proof of the same war @Uppolice @rpfnr_ Should take strict action on this,” reads the translated tweet from Owaisi’s Twitter handle.
AIMIM leader Shaukat Ali had previously shared a video clip related to the incident in which the man claimed that a mob had assaulted him and disrobed him and forced him to chant “Jai Shri Ram”.
According to Moradabad GRP, the man in the clip has been identified as Asim Hussain, 42, a businessman from Moradabad and the incident took place on January 12 while he was travelling on Padmavat Express from Delhi to Moradabad.
However, Devi Dayal, deputy SP, GRP, Moradabad, refuted the allegations and said a probe found that the man’s fellow passenger beat him up after he allegedly tried to harass a woman. The police also denied the communal angle.
In a video widely shared on social media, including by AIMIM leaders, the man said that he had boarded a train from Delhi to Moradabad. “A few people began shoving and pushing when the train stopped at the Hapur station and it was crowded there. Someone shouted ‘he is a thief’ and at the same time, those around me began beating me,” he alleged.
“… they pulled my beard and told me to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ but I refused. I was forced to lie down after being stripped to my waist and brutally beaten with a belt. They beat me so severely that I nearly lost consciousness,” the victim alleged in the video.
The victim told TwoCircles.net that the incident has left him haunted.
“There are a lot of bruises on my body. I am in severe pain. This incident will haunt me for the rest of my life. I will be in constant fear while travelling in trains,” he said.
Hussain wants the perpetrators to be booked.
Replying on Twitter to Owaisi’s tweet, SP GRP wrote in Hindi that on the basis of the complaint received in connection with the incident, a report under relevant sections had been registered.
Denying the allegations made by the victim, Devi Dayal, Dy SP, Moradabad, GRP, said, “An FIR was filed under IPC sections 323, 504, 392, and 298. However, according to preliminary investigation, there was no mention of chanting religious slogans and holding the man by his beard. Additionally, we’ve learned that the man’s fellow passenger beat him up after he allegedly tried to harass a woman.” — (With IANS inputs)
Huneza Khan is a journalist from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. She tweets @KhanHuneza