Unidentified individuals attacked an Imam leading prayer at a mosque in Maharashtra's Anwa village, beating him up for refusing to chant "Jai Shri Ram."
An India Today report quoted Imam Zakir Sayyed Khaja said that the incident happened on Sunday around 7.30 pm when he was sitting in the mosque and reading the Quran.
In Maharashtra's Anwa village, individuals wearing masks forcefully entered a mosque and demanded that the Imam chant 'Jai Shri Ram' while he was reading the Quran. The Imam refused to comply, and as a result, three people took him outside the mosque and physically assaulted him. The attackers also used a cloth laced with chemicals to render the Imam unconscious. Upon waking up, the Imam noticed that his beard had been cut off.
When the people arrived at the mosque for the evening prayer at 8 pm, they discovered the Imam lying unconscious outside. They immediately took him to a government hospital in Sillod, and later, he was transferred to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in Aurangabad, where he is presently receiving medical attention.
The Paradh police station in Bhokardan registered a case against the unknown persons under Sections 452, 323 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).