In Bihar’s Siwan district on Thursday, police arrested about a dozens Muslim men from a local mosque for inciting violence, including a 8-year-old boy during the recent anti-Muslim violence in Barhariya Bihar.
Among the dozens arrested was 70-years-old Mohammad Yasin and his eight-year-old grandson Rizwan Qureshi,Maktoob Media reported.
The family speaking to Maktoob claimed that both are innocent. “Yasin had recently undergone two surgery and have other health ailments. The duo has been booked for incitement of violence and kept in custody,” the family said.
Rizwan’s brother Azhar told Maktoob, “My younger brother was kept in a private ward and my family was initially not allowed to meet him. When my mother saw him he was handcuffed and scared. He was so terrified that he was unable to recognise his own mother. The child was just crying to go back home.”
They were produced in court allegedly with a rope tied around their waist. Rizwan’s family has presented the child’s birth certificate but the police officials have been allegedly demanding money for his release.
Violence had broke out in Muslim-dominated streets of Barhariya during the Mahavir Akhara rally. Hindu mob was caught on camera chanting Islamophobic slogans and playing obscene songs while entering the Muslim locality. Men were armed with swords and sticks.
The provocation led to confrontation between the two groups. Later Muslim houses were targets of stone pelting and vandalism