‘A group of intoxicated men had caught him, abused him and accused him of theft’
Bareilly: A 30-year-old Imam from Bihar, Maulana Tousif Raza Mazhari, was found dead near railway tracks close to Bareilly on April 26. While railway authorities termed it an accidental fall from a moving train, his family alleged he was assaulted and thrown off during the journey.
His wife, Tabassum Khatoon, claimed she witnessed the attack on a video call, during which he said a group of intoxicated men had caught him, abused him and accused him of theft.
Mazhari, an imam and madrasa teacher from Kishanganj, had travelled to Bareilly to attend a religious event. Reacting to the incident, a local resident of Kishanganj, Tawangar Hussain Baghi, as quoted in The Clarion report, drew parallels with past mob violence cases involving Mohammad Akhlaq and Pehlu Khan, urging people to raise their voices and seek justice.
The Uttar Pradesh Police said on Thursday that necessary legal action would be taken after receiving a formal complaint from the victim’s family. Initially, railway authorities had treated the case as an accident after the body was found near the tracks in the Palpur Gate area under Bareilly’s Cantonment police station on April 27.
Police said they reached the spot after being alerted by a railway keyman. The body was identified through the victim’s mobile phone, and his family was informed. A post-mortem examination was conducted before the body was handed over to relatives.
Superintendent of Police (City) Manush Parik said the family had initially believed it to be an accident. However, the allegation of assault surfaced later, following which the police said further legal action would be initiated.
