Mumbai senior citizen, beaten by mob, says, ‘They threatened to throw me off moving train’

Ashraf Ali Sayed Hussain, complainant

The senior citizen who was beaten mercilessly by a group of goons in a moving train, Ashraf Ali Sayyed Hussain, 72, told police that he received life threats from the accused, who threatened to throw him out of the train during the incident on August 28. Hussain also revealed police negligence, stating that when he first visited the police station on the same day after being allowed to disembark at Thane railway station, the police failed to register his complaint.

Officials claim that Hussain did not file a formal complaint at the time and was allowed to leave. However, under the law, the police should have taken cognisance of the matter, especially given that a senior citizen arrived with torn clothes. The case should have been probed diligently at that point.

Speaking with mid-day, Hussain recounted that he boarded a train at Chalisgaon railway station around 8 am on August 28, heading to Kalyan to meet his daughters. He was carrying two containers of buffalo meat, fully covered in a sack. After boarding, he managed to sit on the luggage rack, where people often sit during heavy rush. A group of students, travelling for police exams, asked him to vacate the space, stating that others needed to sit there. He pleaded with them, explaining that he was a senior citizen, had been standing for hours, and his legs were trembling. Another passenger, a police officer, who had her child sitting on the top seat, took the child onto her lap to make space for Hussain.

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Ashraf Ali Sayyed Hussain (white beard) meeting Thane GRP official on Saturday with community members demanding serious sections of BNS to be invoked.

Hussain further recounted that as the train neared Kalyan railway station, he went down to retrieve his luggage containing buffalo meat. The group of students asked if he was carrying beef, opened the bag, and began thrashing and abusing him. "They hit me on my face, legs, and all over my body. They hurled abuses at my mother, sister, and daughter, and prevented me from getting off at Kalyan. One of them said, 'Isko niche fenk do train se' (throw him off the train)."

"I was terrified and helpless. My clothes were torn, and I went to the police station in that condition. Some of them followed me and threatened me not to file a complaint. The police even spoke to one of the accused. Since I was scared, I didn't file the complaint then. The cops told me to take my meat box and leave, and they let the group go after taking down their details," Hussain said.

According to Hussain, as he made his way to his daughter's house with his face swollen, he threw the meat box into a creek, feeling humiliated and blaming it for his ordeal. "I didn't tell my family about the incident. However, when the same group that had humiliated and beaten me up, despite me being their fathers' age, shared a video of the attack on social media, I decided to file a complaint," he told mid-day.

"By the time I considered going to the police again, the video had already gone viral, and the cops approached me to register my case. I revisited the police station to provide more details about the incident," Hussain said, adding that the accused also took ₹2,800 in cash from his pocket to ensure he couldn't afford transportation home, thereby causing him additional trouble.

The police have registered a case against five unidentified individuals under sections 189(2) (unlawful assembly), 191(2) (rioting), 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 190 (offences committed by members of an unlawful assembly in pursuit of a common object), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of peace), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt), and 351(3) (criminal intimidation) on BNS.

Meanwhile, activists who gathered at the Thane GRP office have claimed that the police have invoked only minor charges and have demanded the inclusion of more serious charges, such as attempt to murder, due to the attempt to throw Hussain out of the train and the robbery of his cash. "The police were unwilling to add these serious charges, so we protested at the police station and met with officers to demand justice," said Arif Shaikh, a local from Nandurbar who came to Thane GRP in solidarity with Hussain.

Three accused who were arrested by the Thane GRP have been identified as Aakash Awhad, Nitesh Ahire and Jayesh Mohite. They were produced before the court and remanded to judicial custody.