Hindutva goons brutally assaulted the imam of a mosque in Baghpat district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
The imam, Hafiz Mujib-ur-Rehman, had just finished performing ‘namaz’ at the mosque when he was attacked on his way back home.
The attackers, three men riding a motorcycle, subjected him to disrespectful behavior before launching a merciless physical assault. They bran-dished weapons, creating an atmosphere of fear and terror among the community members present at the scene.
Under the threat of further torture, the imam was forced to chant Hindu religious slogans including “Jai Shri Ram”. The entire act was filmed by one of the assailants on his mobile phone.
Hafiz Mujib-ur-Rehman later revealed that the attackers forced him to wear a saffron scarf and chanted the slogans while pulling his beard. He was warned against reporting the matter to the police, instilling further fear in him.
The imam said, “I was wearing a kurta pyjama and a skull cap. They stopped me, pulled my beard, wrapped a saffron scarf around my neck and forced me to chant (Hindu religious) slogans.”
“One of them filmed the entire act on his mobile phone. They threatened to kill me if I reported the matter to the police. I was scared, ran home, and did not tell anyone. My family sensed something wrong and I had to eventually tell them what had happened,” he told the media.—KMS
