Humiliated, left shaken by the ordeal, says family of Muslim man assaulted on Mumbai train

72-year-old Haji Ashraf Ali Sayyed assaulted on train over suspicion of carrying beef, sparking widespread outrage and arrests.

When 72-year-old Haji Ashraf Ali Sayyed, a resident of Chalisgaon in Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district, boarded the Dhule-CSMT Express to visit his daughter in Kalyan on August 28, little did he know that he would end up in the trauma ward at Sion hospital in Mumbai.

The ward is filled with people, including politicians, who have come to visit Haji and enquire about the assault he faced on the train at the hands of a group of young men, all in their 20s, over suspicion of carrying beef.

Lying in the hospital bed in a half-conscious state, Haji says, “I never thought this could happen to me.” The assault has left his right eye a deep red; a dark patch has formed beneath it, and his skin is swollen. He has also complained of pain in his private parts. His body shudders, as if reliving the traumatic event with each passing moment.

“We were told to report to the Thane Civil Hospital, but his eyes were already turning red. What if he had lost his vision?” says his son, Ashpak Sayyed. Haji’s condition was so dire that he was rushed to Sion hospital on August 31.

The incident came to light after a video of the assault went viral. Ashpak says his father had not initially informed the family about the incident. Instead, he learned about it through a friend who showed him the video on WhatsApp. When Ashpak confronted his father, he finally opened up about the incident. Ashpak says Haji has been unable to sleep, feeling “humiliated” and shaken by the ordeal.

Haji is alleged to have been attacked between Kalyan and Thane stations after he reached for his luggage, which contained two plastic jars of buffalo meat, which is not prohibited in Maharashtra.

Recounting the incident on behalf of his father, Ashpak says the assailants attacked him the moment he reached for his bag. “They punched him repeatedly in the face, chest, stomach, and private parts, and made threats to kill him, and rape the women in his family,” he says, suggesting that the attack seemed premeditated. He says they also attempted to throw Haji off the moving train and kept kicking him till other passengers intervened and told them to stop.