Maharashtra: Bail cancelled for three accused of assaulting elderly Muslim man on train

A railway court in the city of Kalyan near Mumbai on Monday cancelled the bail granted to three men who were allegedly among a group of persons who assaulted and abused an elderly Muslim man on a train last week.

The Muslim man, 72-year-old Ashraf Ali Sayyed Hussain, was attacked on August 28 on a train near the town of Igatpuri in Nashik district by men who claimed he was carrying beef. A video of the assault went viral on August 31, after which several social media users urged the police to take stringent action.

On September 1, three men identified as Akash Ahwad, Nilesh Ahire and Jayesh Mohite were arrested, according to The Wire. However, they were released on bail on the same day as they were booked under bailable sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to unlawful assembly, rioting, wrongful restraint, voluntarily causing hurt, intentional insult to provoke breach of peace, criminal intimidation and mischief.

The Government Railway Police subsequently added two more sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita on uttering words intended to hurt religious sentiments, and robbery or dacoity with an attempt to cause death or grievous hurt. Of these, the second provision is non-bailable.

On Monday, the Government Railway Police filed an application before the Kalyan railway court demanding that the bail granted to the accused men be cancelled. The court held that the presence of the accused men was necessary for further investigation, and cancelled the bail.

A copy of the order was shared on social media by Jitendra Awhad, a leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), who had met the railway police late on Sunday to ask why they did not take action on their own after a video of the assault went viral.

Investigating officer Archana Dusane told The Times of India that the railway police have identified two more accused persons from Maharashtra’s Dhule district, who will be arrested soon.

Hussain, who was travelling from Maharashtra’s Jalgaon to Kalyan to meet his daughter, said that the attack on him on board the train was unprovoked.

“The train was crowded, and I was standing until the train got close to Nashik railway station,” Hussain told The Wire. “One young girl who was seated in the upper berth got down from her seat, and I occupied the place.”

Hussain added: “A young man, around 24-25 years of age, who was standing next to me, asked me to make space for him. Since there was no room to squeeze another person, I asked him if he was thinking of sitting on my lap.”

This angered the group of young men, according to Hussain. The men, who are under 30 years old, were on their way to Mumbai for a police recruitment exam, according to The Wire.

When the Kalyan station arrived, Hussain tried to get hold of his bag that had two plastic jars of buffalo meat, Hussain said in his complaint.

The consumption of water buffalo meat is legal in Maharashtra.

“The men suddenly demanded I open my bag and show it to them,” The Wire quoted him as saying. “They started gheraoing me and asked what I had in my bag. I got hassled and claimed it was bullock meat [banned in Maharashtra in 2015]. The men started punching me and abusing me.”

The elderly man said he could hear some of the men say “throw him [Hussain] out of the moving train”.

Hussain said the men charged at him with blows even as he resisted the attack. “They targeted blows to my eyes and my chest,” he said.

The elderly man said that some other passengers asked the attackers to stop assaulting Hussain, but to no avail. Hussain was quoted as having said that the men also threatened to kill him and rape the women of his family if he complained to the police.

The men threatened him, boasting about their alleged connections with Hindutva group Bajrang Dal, which has on several occasions been accused of involvement in cow vigilantism and mob lynching, The Wire and The Quint reported.