In an another incident of assault in a moving train, three Muslim clerics were beaten by unidentified persons in a Delhi-Shamli passenger train. The incident happened on Wednesday night near Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh when the victims were allegedly beaten because they were wearing rumaal (scarf).
According to a report by NDTV, one of the six attackers asked the victims why they were wearing rumaal, a keffiyeh or scarf worn by Muslim men. This led to an altercation between them after which they were attacked. The attackers didn’t allow them to deboard at their destination and even used an irod rod to hit them.
The victims Gulzar, Israr and Abu Bakr had gone to visit Nizamuddin dargah in Delhi and were returning to their village near Baghpat. The assailants got down at Ahera railway station but the victims only de-boarded at the next station fearing that they might be attacked again.
One of the eye-witnesses named Guddu who was travelling with the trio said that he was saved because he wasn’t wearing the scarf. He said that no one came to help when they were being attacked, reports Indian Express.
The victims later got down at Amhaida station and lodged their protest against the incident. A and a case was registered against six unidentified persons at the Baghpat Kotwali police station. The case has been transferred to the Railway police, reports PTI.
RP station officer Sukhpal Singh, however, said the dispute could actually be over seat-sharing. He told TOI: “Soon after the attack, the accused fled the scene. The three victims reached Baghpat kotwali and registered their complaint. Since it was a group of six-seven youths, there is a possibility that they were daily commuters. It could also be a case of dispute over seat-sharing, which is very common in passenger trains.”
(Feature Image Source: Representational Image/Wikicommons)