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

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 complaintOfficials 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 pointSpeaking with midday 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 HussainAshraf Ali Sayyed Hussain white beard meeting Thane GRP official on Saturday with community members demanding serious sections of BNS to be invokedHussain 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 ldquoThey 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 trainrdquoldquoI 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 didnrsquot 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 detailsrdquo Hussain saidAccording to Hussain as he made his way to his daughters house with his face swollen he threw the meat box into a creek feeling humiliated and blaming it for his ordeal ldquoI didnrsquot 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 complaintrdquo he told middayldquoBy 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 incidentrdquo Hussain said adding that the accused also took 2800 in cash from his pocket to ensure he couldnrsquot afford transportation home thereby causing him additional troubleThe police have registered a case against five unidentified individuals under sections 1892 unlawful assembly 1912 rioting 1262 wrongful restraint 190 offences committed by members of an unlawful assembly in pursuit of a common object 1152 voluntarily causing hurt 352 intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of peace 324 voluntarily causing hurt and 3513 criminal intimidation on BNSMeanwhile 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 ldquoThe police were unwilling to add these serious charges so we protested at the police station and met with officers to demand justicerdquo said Arif Shaikh a local from Nandurbar who came to Thane GRP in solidarity with HussainThree 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