Special Correspondent: A Muslim auto-rickshaw driver in the Bhopal suburb of Bairagarh was assaulted following a dispute with a motorcyclist and was subjected to religious abuse, including being forced to chant “Jai Shri Ram” during the attack.
According to a viral video on Sunday, the driver, identified as Mohammad Salahuddin Qureshi, was reportedly on his way to pick up a passenger when a booking was cancelled.
According to his account, he noticed a religious tableau being set up on the road ahead and began reversing his auto-rickshaw after assuming that the route was blocked.
Salahuddin alleged that a motorcyclist then parked his bike behind the auto, preventing him from reversing further. When he asked the rider to move the bike, an argument reportedly broke out.
According to the allegations, the motorcyclist made derogatory remarks about Salahuddin’s religious identity and then assaulted him.
At that moment, a motorcyclist parked his bike directly behind the auto-rickshaw. When Salahuddin requested him to move the bike back, the motorcyclist allegedly looked at Salahuddin’s beard and cap, hurled a religious slur (“Katuwa”) at him, and attacked him.
Salahuddin has further alleged that several others joined the attack, and that he was beaten again after briefly managing to escape from the spot.
He has also alleged that his beard was pulled during the assault and that the attackers taunted him over his religious identity. According to his account, when he invoked Allah while in pain, the attackers allegedly mocked him and told him to call upon Allah.
“During the assault, when I called upon Allah, the attackers taunted me, saying, “call your Allah.” They then grabbed my beard, forced me to chant “Jai Shri Ram,” and vandalised the auto-rickshaw,” Salahuddin told the media.
The incident has also raised questions about the subsequent handling of the matter at the police station.
Salahuddin alleges that the people involved in the assault took him to a nearby police station and attempted to portray him as the culprit. He further claims that a bystander who had recorded part of the incident arrived at the station and showed the footage to Sub-Inspector Sachin Verma.
According to Salahuddin’s allegation, despite being shown the video, the police officer did not record his statement in the manner he described and instead prepared a report himself, following which Salahuddin claims he was made to sign it.
The incident has since drawn attention on social media, with users calling for an impartial investigation and questioning the alleged use of religious abuse and forced chanting during the assault.
Social media users expressed anger over the alleged assault and calling for action against those responsible.
One user wrote, “How shameless the BJP government is behaving when Muslims are targeted by Hindus. No encounters, no bulldozer demolition, no arrests under severe sections.”