Months after the killing of Maulana Raza of Bihar while he was travelling on a train, another case of hate crime has emerged. A Muslim passenger from Bihar has alleged that he was brutally assaulted on a train near Uttar Pradesh’s Mughalsarai. The man identified as Maulana Mazhar Hussian, a resident of the Bhagalpur district in Bihar, claims that the attack occurred based on his religious identity.
The victim was travelling home after visiting the Kachaucha Sharif Shrine in the Ambedkar Nagar district when he was attacked by a group of unidentified men inside a general coach of the Varanasi-Asansol MEMU Express.
According to the victim, who is a businessman by profession, the incident occurred in the wee hours of June 26 when a train took a halt near Mughalsarai. Hessian was returning from a pilgrimage after completing his visit. Hussain had purchased a general class ticket and was traveling in a general compartment. He said that it was around 4:15 am and he was washing his face near the wash basin inside the coach when a group of persons, four to five in number, entered the compartment shouting religious slogans.
Hussain alleged that the group began chanting religious slogans and launched an assault without any argument or dispute. “Some boys entered the coach, raising slogans. Without any argument or dispute, they started attacking me,” Hussain said in a video statement, with blood oozing out of his head.
As per the accounts of Hussain, he initially tried to defend himself and resist the attack but was overturned by the crowd, which hit him on the head. The object by which he was attacked on the head, he described as something heavy, possibly a stone, causing serious injuries.
“My head started bleeding heavily. After that, I lost consciousness and collapsed inside the train,” he said.
He further states that very few passengers were available in the compartment when the incident occurred, making it difficult for them to intervene effectively. On gaining consciousness, he said he found himself in a government hospital. Hussain said railway personnel and Government Railway Police (GRP) officials had transported him for medical treatment after finding him unconscious and injured. The victim has that the police officer recorded his statement and informed the family members about the incident. “I was traveling peacefully. There was no quarrel, no argument, and no dispute with anyone. I believe I was targeted because I wore a beard and a cap,” he said.
