A Muslim resident said that he was beaten up so brutally that he feared for his life
Team Clarion
CHAMOLI — Eight Muslim families, living in this picturesque district for generations, have been forced to abandon their abodes following attacks on members of the minority community and their shops during a protest over an incident of women harassment.
On 1 September, some members of the Muslim community were attacked and their shops were vandalised and looted by a mob protesting against the alleged harassment of a woman by a Muslim barber in Nandanagar town a week earlier.
Ahmed, a resident of Nandanagar, said 10 families were living in the area. Now, eight of them have fled after attacks on some members of the community.
“In our area, there were 10 Muslim families. Eight families have fled the town. The remaining two families are also being asked to leave the area. But where will they go? When I fled, I had children with me. We walked 15-20 km in the night to reach a road from where we took a bus,” he said.
Ahmed said now he feels relaxed. He said he was terrified and had apprehension of being attacked by his neighbours.
“Fear filled my heart. Even now when I hear their names, I feel that they will kill me. Such a terror has been instilled in my heart. Now, I have no intention to go back there,” said Ahmed.
According to him, never has such an incident happened for decades. He had good relations with the people living there. They used to visit houses of each other. Ahmed used to donate money for their religious functions and cooperate with them physically. “There was no animosity between us. Yet, I was beaten up,” he said.
Another Muslim resident said that he was beaten up so brutally that he feared for his life.
“There were around 2,500 people in the protest. A mob kept beating me up for 100 meters. Had the police not been there, they would have killed me. I have never felt such fear in my entire life,” he said.
He also said that he used to help the people in their festivals. During Ram Leela, he used to give them many things for free. They also visited Muslim houses during Eid celebrations.
His shop was vandalised and looted causing a loss of around Rs 20 crores. The protesting mob threw out all commodities from his garment shop.
“If there would have been ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ as advertised by the prime minister, this would not have happened to me. People would have stopped mobs from attacking me. No one spoke a word. I want to tell the prime minister that if there is ‘Sabka Saath, Sabaka Vikas, people from all sections should be taken along. And strict action should be taken against all those who are attacking us,” said the garment shopkeeper.
