A 25-year-old doctor faced the wrath of an angry Hindutva mob while returning home after work in Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad district on June 30.
The victim, Dr Istekhar, was returning home when he stopped at a petrol pump to refuel his vehicle. He was approached by a group of men who asked his name.
Upon knowing that he was a Muslim, the men started hurling abuse and assaulting him.
The ordeal did not end there. A few others came in a jeep and joined the mob to attack the young doctor who was completely overpowered.
“I was coming back from my clinic, my bike ran out of fuel and I stopped to refuel at a petrol pump. As I crossed the road, two people stopped me, asked my name, and then started abusing and beating me. They called more people, and soon around 25 people surrounded me. I was helpless against them,” Istekhar was quoted by The Observer Post.
After some time a man recognised the doctor and tried to save him from the unruly crowd but did not succeed. He immediately alerted the police who arrived at the spot and asked the crowd to leave.
“I don’t even know those people; they attacked me after asking my name,” Istekhar added.
Six people have been arrested so far. One of the arrested individuals possessed a bike with a sticker identifying him as “BJP Metropolitan President.”
An FIR has been filed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including sections 506 (criminal intimidation), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon), and 147 (rioting).
