A forty-year-old cloth hawker identified as Mohammad Athar Hussain was barbarically lynched in the Nawada district of Bihar on December 5 and later succumbed to his injuries on Friday.
On December 5, he was travelling when his bicycle developed a puncture. While asking a group of people for directions to a nearby mechanic’s shop, they allegedly inquired about his name. Upon learning his identity, the group is accused of robbing him and launching a prolonged and vicious assault. He was reportedly beaten relentlessly for hours, taken into a room where the violence continued, and later dumped on the roadside in a grievously injured state.
“My brother had been selling clothes door to door for the past 10–12 years. That day, when his bicycle got punctured, he asked some people for directions to a cycle mechanic’s shop. They asked his name, then checked his pockets, and after that they beat him mercilessly for nearly an hour.” Saquib Hussain, brother of Athar Hussain, told FoEJ Media.
“Then they took him away and locked him inside a room, where they assaulted him brutally. He was beaten with a heated iron rod and given electric shocks to his private parts. He was tortured continuously from 10 pm to 11 pm,” he said.
Athar was first admitted to Nawada Sadar Hospital and was later referred to Biharsharif for further treatment, where he eventually succumbed to his injuries.
“We came to know about him through his photograph that appeared at the police station, later on Friday, he passed away. Saquib said.
Athar’s brother also told FoEJ Media that an FIR was registered at the Roh police station on December 6, and a separate FIR had been lodged falsely accusing Athar Hussain of theft.
Police have so far arrested eight people, including four individuals who were named in the FIR registered in the case, Saquib told FoEJ Media.
“I want the strictest possible punishment for those who committed this crime,” Saquib said.
