A local imam from Bulakghari village in the Lodha block of Aligarh district, Uttar Pradesh, was brutally assaulted on Saturday, September 20, with the attackers allegedly forcing him to chant “Jai Shri Ram.”
According to local reports, Imam Mustakeem was targeted for having a beard and wearing a skull cap when he was on his bicycle during a scuffle between some kids and a man named Jishan.
Police were immediately called in for inspection while both parties, who were injured, were taken to the hospital for treatment. Aligarh city superintendent of police, Mrigank Shekhar Pathak said, “Upon investigation, it was revealed that it is a normal case of simple assault. There is no religious angle to the case nor was anyone forced to chant religious slogans.”
However, the victim has alleged that he was targeted for refusing to chant religious slogans. “For the past few days, some boys had been bothering me,” he said.
“They stopped my bicycle and asked me to say ‘Jai Shri Ram.’ When I refused, they took out sticks and beat me for nearly half an hour to two hours. They wouldn’t let me get up and said, ‘Yahi dafnado’ (Bury him here).”
When asked whether he had previously reported the harassment to the police, he said he decided against it, so that the situation would never escalate.
Despite the Imam’s statement, local police have maintained that the incident was not a communally motivated hate crime as investigations are ongoing.
