A middle-aged Muslim man who was travelling from Delhi to Moradabad on Padmawat Express was stripped to the waist, assaulted with a belt, and asked to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ by a group of right-wing Hindu men.
According to the victim – Asim Hussain – a businessman, a few men boarded the train from Hapur station.
“There was a crowd. Suddenly nearly 8-10 people started disturbing and all of a sudden someone shouted from behind ‘yeh Mulla chor hai’ (he is a thief),” Hussain said while speaking to reporters.
Mulla is a derogatory term often used to address Muslims.
When asked if he knew his assaulters, Hussain replied in denial. He also said that no one from the crowd offered to rescue him.
A video of Hussain’s assault has gone viral.
Soon after, the deputy superintendent of police, Railway, Moradabad, in his official Twitter account said that action has been taken against two people.
“From the information gathered by co-passengers and the viral video, two alleged accused were taken into custody. These two had alighted at Bareli railway junction,” the police officer said.
