A video showing an elderly Muslim man being attacked and manhandled by some passengers claiming to be carrying beef on a train in Maharashtra has sparked widespread criticism on social media.
The video shows a group of men repeatedly hitting Haji Ashraf Munyar and abusing him, asking him if the meat he was carrying was beef. The attack reportedly took place near Igatpuri town in Nashik district.
The state railway police in Thane district submitted an initial report on the matter on Saturday. A railway police official told Scroll that the incident took place on August 28. Munyaru, a resident of Jalgaon district, was on his way to his daughter's house in Kalyan town near Mumbai.
"We have taken note of the video and identified the victim," PTI quoted an unnamed official as saying. "Some of the people involved in the attack have also been identified and investigations are underway."
According to a report in the Indian Express newspaper, the accused have been charged under the People's Republic of India Act with rioting, unlawful assembly, false imprisonment, assault, criminal intimidation, criminal damage to property and intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace.
Commenting on the attack, Imtiaz Jaleel, leader of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen and former Aurangabad MP, said the nation can no longer stand by and watch such crimes. He said all secular-minded Indians should unite to defeat the forces of hatred.
''How so much poison has spread among these men and how could they even think of doing such a thing to somebody who maybe their grandfathers age?” he asked in a social media post.
“Enough of giving memorandums and expressing our anger on social media. If govt and police is turning a blind eye then we as a community need to stand and counter these forces,'' he added.
Imran Pratapgarhi, the chairperson of the Congress’ minority department, remarked that the assault was representative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s new India. “An entire crowd of people is assaulting an elderly Muslim passenger in a train, and all of this is happening under official protection,” he said.
Several other social media users also put out videos of the assault and urged authorities to take stringent action.
