Two days after he was brutally assaulted by Hindu right-wing extremists, Mohammad Zubair said he had only stepped out to attend namaaz and buy sweets for his children when he was confronted by a right-wing mob wielding lathis and iron rods and shouting Jai Sreeram slogans.
In an interview to Indian Express, Zubair said the mob used anti-muslim slurs and took BJP leader Kapil Mishra’s name as they launched the attack, the photo of which went viral on Tuesday.
On 23 February, the BJP leader and former MLA Kapil Sharma issued “an ultimatum” to the Delhi police, to oust the anti-CAA protesters from the Delhi’s roads. On the same day, Hindu right-wing extremists, chanting slogans such as “Jai Shri Ram”— arrived at the Muslim localities in northeast Delhi. The anti-Muslim violence erupted in these localities and escalated the next days.
Zubair whose photo went viral suffered multiple injuries in the attack. Photos of the brutal assault on Zubair were captured by an award-winning photographer Danish Siddiqui, Reuters and shared widely on Tuesday.
“They beat me till they broke me. I begged them and they beat me some more, viciously. They made communally charged slurs and took (BJP leader) Kapil Mishra’s name. I don’t remember much. I just hoped my children were safe. I can’t bear to look at my photograph, my legs shiver with pain,” Zubair, a father of two daughters, aged five and two, and a son aged four, told Indian Express.
He sustained injuries to his head, arms, shoulders and legs. He has since been discharged from GTB Hospital and is being nursed back to health by his cousins in Inderpuri.
The report said Zubair’s family continues to live in fear and his younger brother has locked everyone inside their two-room house. His brother is not in the favour of filing an FIR and says their fight right now is only for survival.
