Muslim hawker beaten up in MP after he fails to show his Aadhaar card

A Muslim hawker was allegedly beaten up by two unidentified people in Dewas district of Madhya Pradesh after he failed to show his Aadhaar card, reported India Today on Friday, citing the police. The incident came days after a Muslim salesperson was assaulted on Sunday in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore city for selling bangles in a “Hindu area”.

The police said that the victim, 45-year-old Zahid Khan, was a labourer who also worked as a street vendor to sell biscuits.

Khan was attacked in Borli village, under the jurisdiction of Hatpipliya police station, where two men approached him and asked him for his Aadhaar card.

The police said that after the hawker failed to show the identity proof, they assaulted him. Khan sustained minor injuries on his hands and legs. He said he could identify his attackers.

“Both are residents of Borli village and I have seen them in the village in the past,” Khan told the police.

Khan told NewsClick that he was attacked because of his religious identity. “I was selling eatables in a Hindu-dominated area,” he said. “They also looted Rs 900 cash from me.”

The vendor alleged that the men used religious slurs and attacked him with a belt and sticks.

“They were beating me, saying teri himmat kaise hui mere gaon me ghusne ki [how…

Read more