“They were alleging that we had eaten beef. All of us were observing fast in the month of Ramzan. Forget about eating beef, we hadn’t even drunk water,” as Mohammed Hashim said this, the trauma on his face was too stark to be ignored.
Junaid Khan, his brother, was lynched on board a train to Mathura on June 22 by a group of people. Mr. Hashim’s other brother Shakir and a friend of theirs too were attacked by the mob.
Junaid bled to death on Mr. Hashim’s lap after the three were reportedly thrown out of the train.
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“We were attacked and abused because we were Muslims. We were easily identified by our skull cap and beard.
They called us anti-nationals and Pakistanis,” Mr. Hashim said.
Mr. Hashim and Mohammed Azharuddin, a family friend, were here on Sunday to attend an event organised by the State committee of the Indian Union Muslim League.
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Asked about the ongoing investigation into the case, he said: “The police are doing their duty. We are hopeful that we will get justice, if not today, may be tomorrow. The police are yet to catch the main culprit who stabbed me and my brothers,” Mr. Hashim said.
He demanded that the police catch the culprits fast and solve the case. “What happened to us should not happen to anyone else,” Mr. Hashim said.
Politics of hatred
Mr. Azharuddin, who participated in the ‘Not In My Name’ protests at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi recently, alleged that a group of people inspired by the right-wing ideology of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) were spreading “politics of hatred,” which was triggering mob killings across the country.
“Muslims are widely targeted. The lynching of Junaid had nothing to do with a seat row as being reported in the media. He was identified as a Muslim and attacked as he was an easy target,” he alleged.