“If my husband was really a thief, his face would have been visible in the video; at least something would have made sense. He was not a thief, and I will ensure he gets justice.” said Shabnam Parveen, wife of Mohammad Athar Hussain, who was barbarically lynched in the Nawada district of Bihar on December 5 and later succumbed to his injuries.
About a couple of weeks after he was lynched and died, a viral video surfaced that alleges that the deceased was a thief. However, while talking to FoEJ Media, the family has completely denied the allegations.
“All this is being said just to save the culprit. These are false accusations. They beat him so badly and locked him inside a room—when would he even have had the chance to steal anything? They themselves admitted how severely they assaulted him. At what point could he have committed theft? It’s all lies.” Shambam cried and said while talking to FoEJ Media.
“I am in a terrible state. Everything is over for me—nothing is left. My husband is gone, and I am still in shock,” she added.
“My husband was beaten so brutally. I will ensure he gets justice, no matter what. How can I let this matter go? We cannot let it go,” Shabnam said with a painful voice.
“I don’t have enough knowledge to understand what the motive behind these lies is, but they are lies—my brother was not a thief,” Atthar’s brother Saquib said while talking to FoEJ Media.
Meanwhile, eleven people have been arrested in connection with the lynching, and police are examining the video circulating on social media in which Athar is allegedly accused of theft.
A senior police officer said the viral video is being probed from a “theft angle” as part of the ongoing investigation. “A short clip has been circulating on social media. We have taken cognizance of it and are examining its authenticity and context. Every aspect related to the video is being verified,” the officer said while talking to reporters.
Before his death, Athar recorded a statement recounting the extreme violence he suffered. His family said he told them that the attackers stripped him to ascertain his religion, tortured him by burning his body with heated iron rods, and mutilated him by cutting part of his ear with pliers.
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.
