New Delhi: A Muslim hawker selling clothes was allegedly beaten up with lathis on Sunday, October 31, in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh after he was forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’, The Quint has reported.
According to locals, the accused – a father and son duo – belong to Bajrang Dal, a Hindu fundamentalist outfit. The police arrested them after the incident. The victim, Aamir Khan, was first taken to a local district hospital and was then referred to JN Medical College Hospital.
The assault took place on Sunday when Aamir Khan was showing clothes to potential customers in the Nagla Khem area. At this point, the accused descended on the scene and asked him for his name. Upon learning that he was a Muslim, they forced him to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and asked him to touch the feet of a Hindu deity on a calendar. They also tried to set his motorcycle on fire. Aamir has said that local women who were his potential customers had tried to defend Aamir but did not succeed.
Aamir also alleged that his phone and cash amounting to Rs 10,000 were stolen from him by the accused.
Aamir’s uncle, who is in the know of things, told The Quint, ” My nephew Aamir works as a clothes seller. In Nagla Khem, the goons beat him up. There was a crowd in the village at the time of the incident. As per the villagers, the goons belong to Bajrang Dal, who keep creating tension in the village.”
Based on Aamir’s complaint, the police registered a case under Sections 223 (escape from confinement or custody negligently suffered by public servant) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Aligarh Police has, meanwhile, said that the incident was a result of an altercation that broke out due to a dispute over the price of clothes Aamir was selling. Taking to Twitter, the Aligarh Police said, “There was a dispute over the price of the clothes. The police reached immediately and sent the injured to the hospital. An FIR was registered and the accused, Raju and his son Devesh, were sent to jail.”
The Police tweeted in Hindi, and the translation is that of The Wire‘s.
This is not the first time Muslim street vendors and hawkers have become the target of Hindu fundamentalist outfits. Several such instances have been reported from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh – both BJP ruled states.
As The Wire reported earlier, violence against Muslim street vendors and hawkers is justified by the rightwing as action against ‘new kind’ of concocted conspiracy labelled “redi jihad (street vendor jihad)”. While there is no proof of any conspiracy among Muslim street vendors, almost all Muslims affected in Hindutva attacks have spoken of their cash and belongings having been stolen.