In Kankavli, Maharashtra, a Muslim man was beaten by a Hindu mob, who forced him to chant “Jai Shri Ram.” The victim, Asif, was accompanied by his wife and child, who pleaded with the mob to stop the assault.
“I was travelling with my family on the train, some boys boarded the train and started singing ‘Bharat ka bachcha bachcha Jai shri ram bolega’ and chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ loudly… they harassed us, asking us to chant Jai Shri Ram, as my wife was only one in the bogey wearing Hijab,” said Asif.
“They said if we had to live here, we would have to chant Jai Shri Ram, we complained to the train officials but they didn’t take any action,” he said.
Asif’s wife, Jasmine, said that Asif tried to counsel the boys but they didn’t listen.
Asif said that he reported the incident to the railway police at a nearby station and the boys accepted their mistake.
“They accepted it in front of Anjali Madam and Patil sir of the RPF… later Thackeray sir listened to our pleas but said that we shouldn’t file a complaint as the situation is sensitive in Maharashtra…some political leaders accompanied these boys and filed a complaint against us,” said Asif.
“An FIR was registered on January 20 and we asked for protection from the police as a mob was outside the police station but the police didn’t take any action, he said we were on our own,” he said.
“Two days later we went to Kankavlli, where the FIR was lodged, and a mob of about 200 men attacked our home, beat me, and forced me to Jai Shri Ram…I refused,” he added.
