Imam Beaten, Beard Cut Off for Not Chanting Jai Shri Ram in Maharashtra

Mumbai: An Imam at a mosque in Maharashtra’s Anwar village was attacked by unidentified individuals for not chanting Jai Shri Ram. The attackers entered the mosque and beat him up when he refused to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’. They also cut off his beard.

The victim of this attack by these unidentified fanatics was

Imam Zakir Sayyed Khaja. At around 7.30 pm on Sunday, some unidentified masked miscreants entered the mosque while he was reading the Quran. They forced the Imam to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’. When the Imam refused, three individuals took him outside the mosque and beat him up. The Imam alleged that he was made unconscious by some chemical-laced cloth. When he regained consciousness, he realized that his beard had been cut off.

Receiving information, police arrived at Anwar village and investigation is on to track down the miscreants. Security was heightened in the village to check the escalation of tension. A case was registered at the Paradh police station in Bhokardan against the unidentified individuals under Sections 452 (trespassing after preparation for hurt, assault), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 34 (criminal act by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi also took to social media to demand Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis take strict action against the attackers.