New Delhi, June 25:A madrasa teacher claimed that he was beaten up and pushed off a moving train for not chanting “Jai Shri Ram” on Monday afternoon, in the heart of Kolkata.
Hafeez Mohd Sahrukh Haldar, a 26-year-old Muslim man, had been travelling from Canning in South 24 Parganas district in West Bengal to Hooghly, said a report by The Indian Express. During the train journey, a group of people began chanting “Jai Shri Ram”, they insisted Hafeez to join them but when, Hafeez refused, the group began beating him.
According to the report, Hafeez who, the police said, escaped with minor injuries, said: “I was travelling to Hooghly when a group of people were chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ in the compartment. They asked me to chant the same.
When I refused, they started beating me up, and nobody came to my rescue. The incident took place while the train was between Dhakuria and Park Circus stations. They pushed me off the train at Park Circus station. Some locals helped me.”
A railway police official said: “He had minor injuries and was taken to Chittaranjan Hospital. Proper treatment was provided to him. It seems he was assaulted during the journey due to boarding and deboarding issues. There were two to three people who sustained minor injuries. Investigation is on and no one has been arrested.”
According to Hafeez, the incident took place in train number 34531 (Canning- Sealdah), the report says.
As per the railway police, a case was filed against unidentified people at Ballygunge railway station under Sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (acts done by several persons) of the IPC.
