Uttar Pradesh: Scared of being lynched for being Muslim, man dons burqa

Amid rising incidents of mob lynchings reported over the last few months, a Muslim man in Uttar Pradesh resorted to wearing a burqa to conceal his identity.

The incident came to light after travellers at the Agra railway station alerted Government Railway Police (GRP) who later detained the man after observing his suspicious movements.

The man identified as Nazmul Hassan, an assistant engineer in Aligarh's Kasimpur power station, told the GRP that he wanted to hide his identity as he was scared of being lynched for being a Muslim man, reported Times of India.

Hassan told the police that he had to visit Delhi frequently, and was afraid to travel after an altercation with a man last week. The man had reportedly insulted Hassan and his religion and threatened him in full public view after he accidentally pushed him while alighting at the Aligarh railway station.

"I had read about Junaid's killing in a train in Ballabhgarh a few days ago. I was scared for my life after the threat, but couldn't avoid travelling. So I thought of wearing a burqa," Hassan told cops.

However, Hassan was released after the police verified his claims and found nothing suspicious in his statement.

"When Hassan was handed over to the GRP, he was crying and shaking and kept repeating that he is a simple man who has never done anything wrong," said police.

A fortnight ago, a boy Junaid was stabbed to death while his brothers, Hashim and Sakir-- were injured by a mob which also allegedly hurled slurs against them onboard the Delhi-Mathura passenger train between Ballabgarh and Mathura stations.