A Muazzin (Adhan reciter) was attacked with an iron rod by a young man in the Srinagar’s downtown area, injuring him critically on his head.
Speaking to The Kashmiriyat, the man identified as Mushtaq Ahmed Shah aged 60, a resident of Nawa Kadal said that he was reciting Fajr (pre-dawn) Adhaan on the loudspeaker in the local mosque in Nawa Kadal at around 3:40 AM when someone hit him at the back of his head.
“I had completed half of the Adhaan when someone hit my back. I initially assumed it was something supernatural, but when I turned back, I saw a young bearded man who was wearing a mask carrying an iron rod in his hand, I took hold of him and identified him as a local,” he alleged.
The attacker wearing a T-shirt, who he identified as Mohammed Shafi Wagay, assaulted him, he said. “The loudspeaker was still on, so I sought help from the locals saying that ‘I had been attacked inside the mosque by Mohammed Shafi Wagay’. Fearing that he was exposed, the attacker ran away from the mosque,” he said.
He said that some people had already reached outside the mosque when he came out. These people rushed him to the hospital, where the 65-year-old is undergoing treatment.
The family of Mushtaq Ahmed Shah has lodged a formal complaint against the accused.
A Police official said that the accused namely Mohammed Shafi has been arrested for attacking and grievously injuring Mushtaq Ahmed while he was offering Fajr Azan in Nawakadal area of Srinagar today.
The Jammu Kashmir Police has registered a case under ‘attempt to murder’ and other sections of the Indian penal code.