Mumbai: “They punched me in the face, some hit me in the stomach. They even threatened to kill me, throw me out of the train,” recounted 72-year-old Ashraf Ali Sayyad Hussain to the police.
On 28 August, Hussain, a resident of Chalisgaon near Jalgaon in North Maharashtra, was on his way to his daughter’s home in Kalyan, located on the outskirts of Mumbai, aboard the Dhule CSMT Express. However, his train journey turned harrowing when he was attacked by a mob allegedly for carrying beef. The assault has left him with physical injuries and trauma.
A video, which has since gone viral on social media, shows a group of people harassing the elderly man and repeatedly asking him if he is “carrying beef”, a charge Hussain mentioned in his FIR. ThePrint has not independently verified the authenticity of the video.
The police filed an FIR three days after the incident on 31 August under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS): 189(2) (unlawful assembly), 191(2) (rioting), 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 190 (being member of unlawful assembly), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 352 (intentional insult with the intent to provoke breach of peace), 324(4) (mischief), 351 (3) (criminal intimidation). ThePrint has accessed the FIR.
Following this, three people were arrested by the police Saturday. However, all of them were released on bail Sunday.
Speaking to the reporters Saturday, Hussain’s younger brother Sayyad labelled the incident a “hate crime”.
“We came to know about this a day or two later when the video went viral. We got very anxious after the news and checked in on him to see if he was fine. My opinion is that he got attacked because of his religion. Now our demand is that the perpetrators must be booked and they should get the strictest punishment. The police have assured us action,” he said.
ThePrint reached Hussain and his son via calls and messages. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
What happened on 28 August
According to the FIR, Hussain boarded the Dhule CSMT Express, third general compartment, around 8 am on 28 August. He was initially standing, but after the train passed Nashik station, a seat became available, and Hussain promptly took it.
A young man, around 24 or 25 years old, who was standing in the compartment, asked Hussain to vacate the seat, who responded that there was no extra space. “Since there’s no room, will you sit on my lap?” Hussain said. This comment sparked anger among a group of young men seated in the compartment.
When the train reached Kalyan station at around 1 pm, Hussain began to collect his belongings and prepared to disembark. At that moment, the group of young men grabbed him and began to harass him, as detailed in the FIR.
“They got suspicious and opened a plastic bag that I was carrying. I was carrying buffalo meat in two tiffin boxes from Chalisgaon. The boys asked me what the meat was. I told them it is buffalo meat. They forced me to stay back and then started abusing me and starting shooting a video on their mobile phones,” Hussain recounted in the FIR.
In the whole commotion, the train began moving again and Hussain was unable to get off at Kalyan station.
“One of the boys whose face was covered with a handkerchief started punching me near the eye. Eventually the boy sitting in front of me started punching me in the face and eyes and started kicking me in the stomach. Then three to four of their companions also started punching me in the face and stomach. Eventually, they also tore my clothes,” he added.
The mob, he said, also took Rs 2,800 he had in his front pocket.
“They also threatened to throw me out of the moving train and kill me,” he told the police.
Around half an hour later, at 1.30 pm, the train approached Thane station and stopped. Hussain managed to get off here, but so did some of the men.
Scared, Hussain went to the police station, but could not muster the courage to register a complaint. The men eventually left.
After the incident, Hussain made his way from Thane to Kalyan. Angry and humiliated, Hussain threw the boxes of meat, which he saw as the reason for his humiliation, into the Kalyan creek.
Though Hussain arrived at his daughter’s home and was given attention right away, he has not yet fully recovered.
After the video went viral on social media, Hussain finally approached the police to lodge a complaint.
The Government Railway Police (GRP) is investigating the case. On Saturday, the police said they had visited Hussain’s daughter’s home to file an FIR, and that they are checking CCTV footage and ascertaining the viral video’s authenticity.
“We have so far arrested three people and investigation is still on. I will appeal to the people that do not spread any rumours that will disturb the peace,” DCP Manoj Patil of Thane railway police, told the reporters Sunday.
On Saturday, rumours had spread on social media claiming that Hussain had died. These were quickly addressed by Hussain himself, who released a video confirming he is still alive. In the video, accessed by ThePrint, he stated, “I am still alive. Thank you to everyone who has wished me well. However, I request that you do not take any extreme actions on my behalf. I am alive, so please maintain peace.”
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
If he had not done any wrong doings there was no need to throw the box’s in Kalyan khadi it’s the old tactics of cry foul when caught