Four of a Muslim family were injured when a mob of 10-12 unidentified people attacked them at the Aligarh railway station on Sunday afternoon allegedly because of their ‘religious’ identity.
According to an FIR registered by the Government Railway Police (GRP), Sahim Khan, a resident of a village near Kannauj, was travelling on the Kanpur-Anand Vihar Express with his family and had got down at the Aligarh junction at 4.30 p.m. when the group of 10-12 attacked them on the platform. Mr. Khan’s nephew, Taufeeq Khan, suffered a head injury. Their wives were also beaten up. The victims were admitted to the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College of the Aligarh Muslim University.
The family had come for the treatment of their children at JN Medical College, Muqarram Ali, a relative of Mr. Khan, at whose house the family was supposed to stay, told The Hindu . “Sahim’s daughter has a psychiatric condition, while the son has a liver ailment. Taufeeq was attacked with a stone, causing a head injury. Sahim and the women were punched. During the attack, the daughter fainted on the platform.”
Mr. Ali claimed that the people who attacked them came from outside and were not travelling on the train. “They didn’t board the train either. They came, targeted the family whose women were wearing burqas and ran away when the police chased them.”
Mr. Ali maintained that Mr. Khan was a simple farmer and the family did not get into any argument with fellow passengers during the journey. “It was Taufeeq’s first visit to the city, and this was how he was welcomed,” added Mr. Ali, refusing to blame any particular political or religious outfit.
He alleged that the police responded late. Otherwise, the attackers could have been arrested, he said.
Station House Officer Yashpal Singh said the FIR was registered against unidentified people under Sections 147, 352 and 394 of the IPC. “CCTV footage is being looked into to identify the culprits. Prima facie, it seems like a case of altercation, leading to an attack.”
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