Elderly man slapped and abused on Maharashtra train suspected over carrying beef
PTC News Desk: An elderly man was subjected to physical assault and verbal abuse on a moving train in Maharashtra after fellow passengers suspected him of carrying beef. The incident, which was captured in a disturbing video, took place on the Dhule Express and has since gone viral, sparking outrage.
In the video, a group of approximately a dozen men confront Ashraf Munyar, the elderly man from Jalgaon district, over the contents of two large plastic boxes he was carrying. The men aggressively question him, asking, "What are you carrying? Where are you going? Where are you from? Don't you get goats there? How many people are going to eat it?"
Munyar, visibly shaken, responds weakly that he was transporting the meat for his daughter's family in Malegaon. Despite his explanation, the men remain unsatisfied and continue to interrogate him, recording the interaction on their phones. At one point, Munyar admits that the boxes contain buffalo meat.
One of the men remarks, "We will know about it once we get it tested," while another adds, "It's Sawan season. It's our festival and you are doing this." The Sawan month, or Shravan, is a significant holy period for Hindus.
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The Railway Commissioner has confirmed the incident and an FIR has been registered. The railway police are actively searching for the passengers involved in the assault. Following the video's viral spread, the Government Railway Police (GRP) reached out to Munyar, who was initially reluctant to file a complaint.
Two suspects have been identified, both residents of Dhule, and a police team has been dispatched to locate them.
Jitendra Awhad, a leader from Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction, condemned the incident and criticized the state’s law and order situation. Awhad questioned, "Some youngsters beat him up because they thought he was carrying beef. This is not Maharashtra. This is not our culture. Where will this stop?"
He emphasised that a significant portion of Maharashtra's population is non-vegetarian and that such acts of violence based on suspicion are unacceptable. "We respect all religions, including Jains, but this hatred leading to violence based on mere suspicion is shameful," he added, urging for an end to such intolerance.
- With inputs from agencies
