Mob attacks passenger with beard, wearing skull cap at Hafeezpet station

Hyderabad: En route to Latur in Maharashtra, a passenger named Mohammed Imran was allegedly attacked by a group of men for his religious identity.

A video of the Muslim man recounting the incident to the police emerged on social media on February 11. “Mujhe bas uthaya aur marne chala (He just picked me up and went to kill me),” Imran told the officers.

He said that they targeted him after seeing him with a beard and a skull cap, and even attacked his friend who tried to intervene.

The assault reportedly took place on the Kakinada Express while it was stopped at the Hafeezpet station in Hyderabad.

According to Imran, the group was already engaged in a physical altercation. Initially, a passenger got into an AC Coach, which the railway staff questioned. The staff reportedly began assaulting him, saying he was not allowed in the AC Coach. As a crowd formed around them, Imran approached to inquire into the incident, but the staff targeted him instead, he said.

“They pulled my beard, punched me so hard that I began bleeding. My friend, who was with me, was beaten too. The police snatched his phone and left,” Imran said in a separate statement. Additionally, the railway police barred him from getting off at the next station, he alleged, adding that they took his and his friend’s phones.

“They threw my bag back in the train, forced me to sit in the train without letting me go,” he said. “I want justice. All my belongings, including my phone worth lakhs, have been taken from me. Now, I am going to the Hafeezpet police station to file a complaint,” Imran said.

Persecutions against Indian Muslims continue with greater velocity every day, with even political figures like Assam Chief Minister posting Islamophobic videos targeting Muslims.