Mob beats up Muslim man for travelling with Hindu woman in Ujjain

Members of a right-wing organisation thrashed a Muslim man for travelling with a Hindu woman in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain, police said on Tuesday.

According to the police, the incident took place on January 14 but came to light only on Tuesday after a video of the incident went viral on social media.

In the video, one Pintu Kaushal, who claims to be a member of a right-wing organisation, along with a few others, was seen dragging a man out of a train and thrashing him at the Ujjain railway station. The woman, who was travelling with the victim, a resident of Mhow in Indore district, could be seen following the mob.

HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.

Kaushal later claimed that the married Hindu woman was “misguided” by the Muslim man, who is also married and has a child, and they were heading to Ajmer for marriage. “We received information and brought them out of the train. We handed them over to GRP, Ujjain for police action as it was a case of ‘Love Jihad’,” said Kaushal.

However, GRP Ujjain superintendent of police Nivedita Gupta said, “The man and woman were family friends and the woman’s mother has confirmed the same. We allowed them to go.”

However, she said the man didn’t file any complaint about being beaten by the mob. “As they didn’t file any complaint, we can’t take suo motu action,” the SP said.

Retired IPS officer and social activist Arun Gurtoo termed the incident as the violation of human rights. “This act is morally wrong and legally violation of human rights. The police should take action to stop the recurrence of such activities because the saffron organisation or any other person doesn’t have a right to stop anyone randomly and harass publicly,” Gurtoo added.