A 12-year-old Muslim boy was assaulted in Lucknow’s Badi Kali Mandir Chowk after he refused to fetch cigarettes for a group of Hindu men during a jagran.
Abdullah was hit on the head with a kada (iron bangle) and slapped when he declined the request. The men then demanded he chant “Jai Shri Ram.” The boy fled home, only to be followed by a mob of around 200–250 people who allegedly pelted stones at his house and a nearby mosque.
The family locked themselves inside and sought help. Meanwhile, Abdullah’s uncle, 33-year-old Mohd Sufiyan, was returning home when the crowd attacked him. He sustained a head injury that needed eight stitches.
Abdullah’s father, Mohd Irfan, said theirs is the only Muslim household in the area and they had lived in harmony for years. He claimed the attackers were outsiders and noted recent harassment linked to allegations that the local mosque stands on the site of a demolished Hindu temple.
Police have registered a case against six named individuals—Ashish, Vikas, Anshu, Mohit, Anand and Umang—along with about 200 unidentified people. No arrests have been made so far.
This story was originally published in muslimmirror.com.