Indian Muslim jailed for trying to visit Dalit rape victim family

Student activist accused of ‘conspiracy to cause caste-based violence’ but family and lawyer say he is a ‘scapegoat’.

On October 5 last year, Masud Ahmed was travelling through Mathura, a town in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, when a team of police officers waved him over. The officers, who were manning a checkpoint, asked him and three co-passengers questions including their names, affiliation and purpose of travel. Wearing a grey button-down shirt, a blue hat with his beard trimmed short, the 26-year-old student activist told the officers they were on their way to Hathras, a small town in Uttar Pradesh state 43km (26 miles) from Mathura and about 200km (124 miles) from the capital, New Delhi.