
An Imam was reportedly lynched by a furious mob who accused him of allegedly attacking a Hindu woman in Jharkhand’s Koderma district when he was returning home. Grievously injured, the Imam succumbed to his injuries while on his way to the hospital.
The victim Maulana Sahabuddin was returning home on his bike near Ghuthari Kariya on June 30, when his vehicle hit an auto carrying the Hindu woman, Anita Devi, along with her husband and brother-in-law.
The accident resulted in minor injuries to Anita Devi. However, her husband and brother-in-law started accusing the Imam for her condition.
Soon a mob gathered and started beating the Imam on his face and other parts of the body with sticks and bats.
In the chaos, Anita Devi who had received minor injuries urged the crowd to spare Sahabuddin but it fell on deaf ears.
On information, police rushed to the scene and saved Sahabuddin from the angry mob. Bleeding from the face and head, he was rushed to the hospital but succumbed to his injuries later.
Police deny communal angle
The police however denied any communal angle and said the Imam died due to the accident.
“The Imam received injuries due to the accident. There is no communal angle here. He was transported to the hospital in a police vehicle but succumbed to his injuries on the way. His body has been sent for a postmortem,” a police officer said.
Family refutes police version
Speaking to The Observer Post, Shahabuddin’s son Mohd. Parvez Alam said his father was returning home to Bunichowdia when the incident took place.
The Imam used to teach children in Barkada District, Hazaribagh.
“He was bleeding from his nose, but he had no external injuries, it was most likely internal bleeding. We want the authorities to investigate the matter,” Alam said.
Lynched for his Muslim identity
“He did not die in an accident. If it were so, then he would’ve been saved, but the mob hit him on the head,” said Suraj Das, a local leader associated with the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM).
“The woman who was hit by the motorcycle was requesting the mob not to beat the Maulana, but they continued beating him. The woman was not seriously injured, but the mob beat him because he was a Muslim, they probably saw him wearing a cap and beard,” Das was quoted by The Observer Post.