By Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — A Muslim passenger from Bihar has alleged that he was brutally assaulted on a train near Mughalsarai in Uttar Pradesh after being targeted because of his religious identity, raising fresh concerns over passenger safety and communal violence on India’s railways.
The victim, Mohammad Mazhar Hussain, a resident of Bhagalpur district in Bihar, said he was travelling home after visiting the Kachaucha Sharif shrine in Ambedkar Nagar district when he was attacked by a group of unidentified men inside a general coach of the Varanasi-Asansol MEMU Express.
According to Hussain, a businessman, the incident took place in the early hours of 26 June while the train stopped at a station or halt near Mughalsarai.
Speaking about the incident, Hussain said he had travelled to Uttar Pradesh on 24 June for a pilgrimage and was returning to Bihar after completing his visit. He had purchased a general-class ticket and was travelling in a general compartment.
Recounting the incident, Hussain alleged that at around 4:15 am he was washing his face near the wash basin inside the coach when a group of four to five young men entered the compartment shouting religious slogans.
He claimed that the men immediately began assaulting him.
“Some boys entered the coach raising slogans. Without any argument or dispute, they started attacking me,” Hussain alleged.
This story was originally published in clarionindia.net. Read the full story here.