On the night of June 15th, a right-wing mob attacked a madrasa in Telangana’s Medak district, resulting in injuries to at least eight people. According to a resident named Ateeq, cattle were being transported to the Minhaj-ul-uloom Madrasa for Eid when Hindu right-wing groups intercepted the vehicle near the madrasa and launched a violent attack.
A resident, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Observer Post that a 60-year-old elderly was severely injured following the attack and has been taken to a hospital in Hyderabad for intensive care. He suffered a head injury and a significant loss of blood.
“Considering the nature of the attack and the mob’s organization, it seems to be a premeditated assault on Muslims and local Muslim establishments,” said Taher, another resident of the same town.
Karwan MLA Kausar Mohiuddin said that the orthopaedic hospital near Medak police station was also surrounded by members of the Hindu Vahini and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The mob specifically targeted Muslim shops and establishments. Armed with sticks and other weapons, the mob vandalized the hospital premises and threw stones at the building, according to Mohiuddin.
After leaving the hospital, the angry mob, consisting of over a hundred people, took to the streets shouting slogans like “Jai Shri Ram” and “Jai Gau Mata”. They forcibly closed shops and caused damage to properties owned by Muslims. Several Muslim-owned businesses, including Care Hospital, Iftikhar Pan Shop, Okaz Medical Shop, Khalid and Naib Kalyani Hotels, Golden Bakery, Honey Bakery, and a gym, were targeted.
“While the police eventually intervened and prevented the mob from causing further harm, they remained passive during the initial attack,” a resident of Medak, who preferred not to be named, told The Observer Post.
“They could have acted sooner,” he added, suggesting that the police showed bias against the Muslim community.
AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi have spoken with Telangana DGP Ravi Gupta, demanding a thorough investigation into the incident.
Majlis Bachao Tehreek party spokesperson Amjedullah Khan also urged the state government to take necessary measures to prevent violence against Muslims during the Eid Al Adha celebrations.
Despite police assurances of cooperation, cattle traders and public representatives in Hyderabad have expressed concerns about the challenges faced by traders in transporting bovines into the city as Bakrid, also known as Eid-al-Adha, approaches on Monday, June 17.
Kausar Mohiuddin, the AIMIM MLA from Karwan constituency in Hyderabad, when visited the injured at the hospital, he said that the party would ensure peace in Medak and quality treatment for all the injured, regardless of their religion.
BJP Medak Town president M Nayam Prasad and district president Gaddam Srinivas have been arrested by Telangana police in relation to the violence. Additionally, Section 144 is in effect in the area.
Responding to allegations made by Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT) leader Amjed Ullah Khan, K. T. Rama Rao, the working president of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), stated that under the Congress government, there is neither any law nor order. He expressed his concern over Medak, which had no history of communal activity in the past, now descending into chaos due to recent events.
Khan had claimed that the Medak police were silent observers to attacks by RSS and BJP workers on Muslims and their property. Khan further alleged that since A. Revanth Reddy took office as Chief Minister, communal elements have been allowed to freely attack Muslims and cause damage to their property, while the police stand by silently.
