On 29 April, Qari Mohammad Riyaz (22), a religious teacher in a madrasa in Motijharan locality of Sambalpur, a district in western Odisha, was beaten by a group of Hindu men.
Qari Mohammad Riyaz, a resident of Samastipur in Bihar, was on his way back from Barbil, a town in Odisha’s Kendujhar district. After arriving at the bus station in Sambalpur, he boarded an auto-rickshaw headed for Madarsa Faizan-e-Ali in the Motijharan area, where he was set to resume duties following a brief transfer to Barbil.
Speaking to The Observer Post, Riyaz recounted that around 10 p.m., shortly after getting off the bus, he was waiting in an auto-rickshaw while the driver stepped away to deliver something near Laxmi Talkies Street. It was then, he said, that four men approached him—one of them called out and began questioning him without explanation.
“He asked me where I was coming from and where I was going,” Riyaz recalled. “I told him I was returning from Rourkela and heading back to Motijhira madrasa.”
The men then demanded to see his Aadhaar card and searched his belongings. “He said my Aadhaar card isn’t from here. I told him I’m from Bihar and work here.”
What followed, Riyaz said, was a sudden act of violence. “He suddenly started beating me. Two people joined in. I pleaded with them to listen to me.”
Riyaz told The Observer Post that the assaulters called him a Bangladeshi, since he couldn’t speak Oriya clearly.
Riyaz was further hit with a piece of wood in his eyes, until some people from the Muslim community nearby intervened. As a result of the assault, he sustained injuries in different parts of his body.
Riyaz said that while he was being beaten, a passerby attempted to intervene, who was also verbally assaulted. “They hurled abuses at him as well,” Riyaz said.
The men hurled communal slurs at Riyaz. “They called me a Pakistani, an aatankwadi, and Mulla. I told them they were mistaken—I’m from Bihar and I teach here. But they kept beating me.”
He said that the mob snatched his phone when he tried to seek help by calling locals. “I asked them to let me call local people who know me so that they confirm my identity, but they didn’t stop.”
It was only when a local resident identified Riyaz and called the police that the assault ceased. The police took him to Town Thana, Sambalpur.
“At the station, they questioned me, checked my belongings, and eventually let me go,” he said.
Riyaz reached the madrasa around 11 PM. The attack had taken place an hour earlier, around 10 PM. Riyaz was then taken to the Sadar hospital in Sambalpur by the police for treatment. “The 4 men beat me all over the body,” he said. “I had a bag on my back, which helped protect it, but my left hand and shoulders are still hurt.”
FIR registered, One Arrested
Late at night, Riyaz, along with the local community leaders, visited the town police station and registered an FIR.
As per Riyaz’s complaint to the police, accessed by The Observer Post, It has been alleged in the police station that one of the attackers was a bus owner.
“While travelling to my residence by auto rickshaw, I was attacked by a group of goons (4 persons) without any reason. The accused persons not only verbally abused me using communal slurs such as “terrorist,” “Pakistani,” “Mulla,” etc., but also physically assaulted me with sticks, fist, and pulled my beard. During the attack they repeatedly referred to my religion in a derogatory and hateful manner and issued life threats warning me to leave the area”, the complaint submitted by Riyaz read.
According to the FIR filed at the Town Police station, Sambalpur, the police have booked Kamal Lochan Pujari, a resident of Danipalli in Sambalpur, and others under sections 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 115(2) (Voluntary hurt), 296 (obscene acts), 351(3) (Criminal intimidation), 109(1) (Attempt to murder), 196(1)(b) (Communal unrest), and 3(5) (Joint Criminal liability) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
Briefing the media, Sambalpur police said that at around 10 PM, some men stopped Riyaz and asked him his name, after which they attacked them. Additional SP Ajay Mishra said that Kamal Lochan Pujari, one of the accused who has been named in the FIR, and a resident of Danipallo area of Sambalpur has been arrested.
As per local newspapers, there has been a sharp increase in mob attacks across various parts of the city in recent months, allegedly targeting individuals suspected of being Bangladeshi infiltrators.
The latest incident was reported from Kothapalli, where a group of construction workers was attacked. Following the assault, many workers — including those who had earlier migrated from Sambalpur — have reportedly left the area.
Recently, a group of 40 migrant workers, who belonged to Malda, West Bengal, returned home from Sambalpur after they were allegedly threatened, abused and manhandled by some residents there because they were “Bengalis”, who were potentially identified as “Bangladeshis” and were subjected to increasing violence.
In response, the police have stepped up security and surveillance, particularly at the city’s bus stand and railway station. According to local reports, authorities are also exploring preventive measures to ensure that routine requests — such as asking someone for an Aadhaar card — do not escalate into violence. However, the vigilante groups have been freely using such queries to target muslims.
On 30 April, around 150–200 members of the Muslim community gathered at the Sambalpur Superintendent of Police’s office to protest the mob assault on Muhammad Riyaz. Local community leaders also submitted a memorandum demanding the immediate arrest of those involved in the attack and urging the police to actively maintain peace in the town. Simultaneously, various civil society groups condemned the assault and called for the arrest of all the perpetrators and measures to uphold communal harmony.
The locals, who submitted the memorandum to the police, stated that “the attackers not only physically assaulted him (Riyaz) using fists and wood sticks, but also chanted hate slogans, including ‘Pakistani terrorist Mullah’, aiming to provoke religious tensions and dehumanize the victim”.
“This was not just an act of violence against an individual, but a deliberate attempt to spread communal hatred and fear among a peaceful community. Such incidents gravely threaten the social harmony and safety of the Muslim residents of Sambalpur,” the memorandum stated.
Among the locals who submitted the memorandum was Abdul Kalam, a resident of Sambalpur. Speaking to reporters, he said, “He (Riyaz) was beaten brutally without reason. He wasn’t well-versed in Oriya and was attacked. Ever since the Pahalgam incident, atrocities against Muslims have escalated.”
“We are also hurt by the killings of innocents,” he added. “We have demanded the immediate arrest of three individuals who are yet to be taken into custody, and urged the authorities to ensure peace, harmony, and justice for the victim.”
According to the local sources, Kamal Lochan Pujari, who has been arrested, is a bus owner and has active associations with the local BJP leaders. Sources told The Observer Post that he has attempted to incite further communal polarization by alleging that he was looted to evade the criminal charges against him.
As per Sambad, a local newspaper, the brother of Kamal Lochan Pujari alongwith their associates met the Inspector General of Police on 02 May and alleged that the police had taken a “unilateral” action.
Refuting the claims, a local community leader, who didn’t wish to be named, said that “the factions of BJP-RSS are trying to gain a stronghold in the region by inciting communal disturbances in the area”.
Lochan’s associates and those associated with BJP have alleged that they were chased by muslim youth with weapons, which has been refuted by locals as a “bogus” invocation and an attempt to further attack the muslims.
As per sources, Lochan has also filed an FIR at the town thana, Sambalpur, alleging that “some youths chanted anti-national slogans on the same night, while supporting the madarsa teacher”.
“It was only when the police arrived at the spot that they fled the scene”, said a local, adding that “the goons are trying to justify their barbarity against an innocent man”.
(Syed Affan is a journalist based in Delhi. His reportage focuses on human rights, land conflicts, and policy)
