By Ghazala Ahmad
A Muslim Auto driver was brutally beaten by a group of Hindu nationalists in the Vasna, Gupta Nagar area of Gujarat’s Ahmedabad district on 14 January.
Ahmed Hussain Sheikh, 24, was transporting three passengers in his auto: two women carrying catering supplies for a wedding, and a man sitting beside the driver’s seat.
Sheikh was transporting his passengers as usual on Sunday night around 9:30 PM. While the passenger seated with the driver, a Hindu sporting a Tilak, accidentally spat the tobacco he was chewing. It landed on one of the men in the Hindutva group standing just behind the auto.
The Hindutva group then stopped the vehicle and started beating Sheikh, even though the Hindu passenger confessed that it was he and not the driver who spat the tobacco outside, and his intention was not to spit on anyone.
The incident turned anti-Muslim when Sheikh was beaten by the group mercilessly and let the Hindu man go away, the other two women also ran away, leaving behind the catering items in the auto.
Some other people allegedly associated with Rashtriya Swayemsewak Sangh also joined in assaulting Sheikh. Collectively, they were at least 20 men.
No bystanders reacted to the incident or reported it to the Vasna police station, which is within walking distance from the place of the incident, according to the eyewitness.
Later he was rescued by a passerby, Rasheed Khan Pathan, as he saw a man being assaulted by a group. He took his motorbike and rescued him from the spot and admitted him to the hospital.
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here .