Muslim driver abused, forced to chant Jai Shri Ram in MP
21-year-old youth dies in custody in West Bengal_
Bhopal: A Muslim auto-rickshaw driver was assaulted and subjected to religious abuse, including being forced to chant the Hindutva slogan “Jai Shri Ram” during the attack in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh.
The victim, Mohammad Salahuddin Qureshi, was on his way to pick up a passenger in the Bairagarh area of Bhopal when he was attacked.
Salahuddin said several Hindus attacked him and beat him after he briefly managed to escape from the spot.
He said his beard was pulled during the assault and that the attackers taunted him over his religious identity. The attackers allegedly mocked him and told him to call upon Allah.
“During the assault, when I called upon Allah, the attackers taunted me, saying, ‘call your Allah.’ They then grabbed my beard, forced me to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram,’ and vandalised the auto-rickshaw,” Salahuddin told the media.
The incident has also raised questions about the subsequent handling of the matter at the police station.
Salahuddin said those involved in the assault took him to a nearby police station and attempted to portray him as the culprit. He further said a bystander who had recorded part of the incident arrived at the station and showed the footage to Sub-Inspector Sachin Verma.
According to Salahuddin, despite being shown the video, the police officer did not record his statement as narrated by him and instead prepared a report himself, after which Salahuddin said he was made to sign it.
Social media users expressed anger over the alleged assault and called for action against those responsible.
One user wrote, “How shameless the BJP government is behaving when Muslims are targeted by Hindus. No encounters, no bulldozer demolition, no arrests under severe sections.”
Meanwhile, a 21-year-old youth, Rahul Ruidas, died in police custody at Chandrakona police station in West Midnapore, West Bengal.
Rahul’s father, Bifal Ruidas, filed a petition before the Ghatal subdivisional court seeking a full investigation. District Superintendent of Police Papia Sultana ordered a probe and initiated a departmental inquiry. The victim was found hanging near a shower pipe with his trousers in the police washroom.
Deaths in police custody happen across India, with BJP-governed states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and now West Bengal frequently recording high numbers. India recorded 4,484 deaths in police custody between April 2020 and March 2022, according to reports shared in Parliament.
In 2020–21, the BJP-ruled state of Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number with 451 deaths, followed by West Bengal with 185 deaths and Madhya Pradesh with 163 deaths. According to Human Rights Watch, extrajudicial killings and custodial torture remain serious human rights concerns across the country. Indian police often target marginalized groups, religious minorities, and Dalits during investigations or to extract confessions.
