Teen scholar in Islamic studies bludgeoned to death for 'carrying' beef

A teen was stabbed to death after he was accused of shopping for beef. The boy had actually shopped for Eid at Jama Masjid in Delhi and was returning home to a village near Ballabgarh in Haryana. The entire family ran into trouble when they were abused, humiliated and assaulted by a mob of 15-20 people. They started passing communal remarks and accused them of carrying beef in the bag.

The 19-year old was stabbed to death in the entire ruckus. The situation aggravated so much that even the GRP at Ballabgarh railway station failed to intervene and stop the assault. The family of five was returning from the masjid by train when an altercation over a seat turned communal. The miscreants threw their skull caps and pulled the beard of the elderly and started calling them anti-national. 

The arguments spiralled thereafter claiming the life of 16-year old Hafiz Junaid. Many others were injured in the altercation. Police has arrested one person on Friday in connection with the incident and he has also confessed to the crime and reportedly regretted the outcome. The accused was one of the 15-20 miscreants who were drunk and had boarded the Mathura-bound train. 

While there are debates as to whether the incident happened in front of the police or whether it happened in their absence. However, as per another victim, 18-year-old Mohsin, said that everything happened in the plain sight of Government Railways police who simply refused to help. He further added, "To save ourselves, we called the police and the emergency response number but there was no response."

The victim was a student of Islamic studies in Surat, Gujarat along with his brother Hashim. Some of the other victims in the altercation are Mohsin, 16, Moin, 18, and Junaid's elder brother Sakir. Sakir was allegedly stabbed and is admitted to AIIMS, as per a report in Hindustan Times. 

Junaid's last rites are to scheduled to be performed on Friday. 

Hashim said, "One of them pushed my brother Junaid. He initially thought that it was unintentional as the bogie was crowded. But when he did it again, my brother asked them to behave. The man got angry and threw Junaid’s skull cap on the floor. The man started calling him an anti-national and asked us all to vacate the seat."

He also alleged that the men came looking for them in the adjacent bogie even when they got down at the Tuglaqabad station to avoid any problems. Hashim, speaking to Hindustan Times, said, "We thought it was over, but they came looking for us again. The train stopped at Ballabgarh and as we were about to get down, a man with a knife blocked the gate. While Mausin managed to jump down, Junaid, Moin and me got stuck inside. Meanwhile, Sakir, whom I had called also boarded the train to rescue us and got stuck. The men then locked the gate and the train started again." 

Further narrating the ordeal, he said, "Three men held me when I tried to intervene and stabbed me thrice in the back and shoulder. One of us even tried to pull the chain to stop the train but it was not working." He further said that none of the passengers came to help. 

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