Nadim Malik, a 27-year-old Muslim textile dealer, was attacked by some unidentified men on Friday while traveling from Mumbai to the Bulandshahar district of Uttar Pradesh. They also shaved his head and beard and left him half naked.
Malik, a shopkeeper in Mumbai’s Malad district, boarded the train on Wednesday.
His family uploaded the video on WhatsApp, which brought public attention to the assault. Afterwards, Malik’s family filed a complaint about this.
The police claim that the crime happened in Rajasthan between Bharatpur and Kota, and that Malik was later located in Delhi by his relatives.
This is not the first incident of its kind. Numerous such hate crimes have made the news throughout the recent past.
In January, 2023, a 45-year-old trader of aluminium from Moradabad city was reported to have been stripped, belted for about an hour, had his beard plucked, and made to chant “Jai Shree Ram” in a moving train in Uttar Pradesh. In the Padmavat Express headed for Pratapgarh on January 12, Mohd Asim Hussain was returning home from Delhi when the event happened between the railway stations of Hapur and Moradabad.
On January 24, a Hindutva mob had reportedly beaten up a Muslim man in front of the Panvel police station as his wife and small daughter cried out for aid. The video appeared online and gained rapid popularity. The Muslim family had come to the police station after facing harassment by a group of 30-40 students while travelling in Madgaon LTT Express on January 19, as per reports.
On the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express in July, 2023, a Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable opened fire, killing three Muslim passengers before his senior official.
According to witness accounts, he made hateful comments against Muslims before opening fire.
“If you want to vote, if you want to live in India, then I say, Modi and Yogi, these are the two, and your Thackeray,” he was heard shouting.
