Hindutva goons assault elderly Muslim man in Maharashtra
Mumbai: A 65-year-old Muslim man was brutally beaten and paraded semi-naked by Hindutva extremists in BJP-ruled Maharashtra state of India.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the victim has been identified as Rauf Sheikh Burhan Qureshi, a meat seller by profession. The attack was carried out by self-proclaimed RSS-backed cow vigilantes in Sarsoli, near Jalgaon city on allegations of selling beef.
Family of the victim stated that Hindu goons dragged him from his house near Ayesha Masjid and was savagely beaten before being taken around the streets and then forced onto a tractor trolley in a semi-naked state at the town’s weekly market, where the attack continued in full public view.
His wife, Haseena Bi, described the horrific ordeal: “I received a call that my husband was being beaten. When I reached the spot with my son, we saw them mercilessly assaulting him. When we tried to intervene, they pushed us away. The attackers even misbehaved with me.”
Disturbingly, the police did not arrest the assailants. Instead, they registered a case against Rauf Sheikh and his son under charges of selling beef.
Farooq Sheikh, a local activist, stated that Rauf Sheikh’s condition was so severe that he could not even be produced in court. “This shows the extent of the brutality he suffered.”
The local civil society has warned of a sit-in protest outside the district police office if justice is not served. Meanwhile, legal experts have pointed out that the Supreme Court has explicitly directed law enforcement to take strict measures against cow vigilante violence, raising concerns over police inaction in this case.
The incident has reignited debates over mob violence and the misuse of cow protection laws in India, with calls for stronger enforcement to prevent such atrocities in the future.
