On November 12, a horrific incident happened in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh, where a 22-year-old newlywed Muslim woman was mercilessly harassed and molested by four men on a special passenger train. When her husband courageously intervened, he was met with brutality and verbal abuse by the perpetrators. In a stunning betrayal of selective action, the GRP police detained the husband instead of the attackers, according to the victim.
The victim, who had been married for just two months, recounted the traumatic experience. She asked people gathered there to give a phone to call for help, but was rebuffed.
In #UttarPradesh‘s #Aligarh, a 22 year old girl named #Sultana was eve teased and molested by half a dozen men in #DelhiAligarhTrain, when her husband raised objection he was beaten by the miscreants, and instead of arresting the eve teasers police arrested her husband.. pic.twitter.com/ZevbEXHqEx
— Hate Detector 🔍 (@HateDetectors) November 15, 2024
The attackers even assaulted her husband with belts at Aligarh Railway Station, right in front of her and her in-laws. To make matters worse, the assailants threatened the victim with a gun. She alleged that a group of other people also joined in beating him up further.
People remained mute spectator, Police chosen selective action
The woman said that, “The goons began staring at me as soon as the train left Delhi. When I objected, they tried to touch me. My husband stepped in to defend me, but he was attacked. Despite my pleas for help, other passengers just watched silently” as Times of India reported,
Relatives of the couple soon arrived at the station and staged a protest in response to the incident. Following the public outcry, the GRP released the husband and registered a case at Aligarh GRP Police Station against the attackers. Police confirmed that one of the accused, Jitu Singh, a resident of Usmanpur Khandauli in Agra, has been arrested. However, three others, including Mahesh from Singh Kuberpur, remain at large, while two more suspects have yet to be identified.
Notably, GRP SHO Shailendra Yadav confirmed that a case had been registered following the victim’s husband’s complaint. The charges include Section 74 (assault or use of criminal force against a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), Section 115-2 (voluntarily causing hurt), and Section 352 (insult that provokes a breach of peace) of BNS, 2023. The couple, married just two months ago, had travelled from Delhi to Aligarh to attend a family wedding. The husband, who runs a clothing business, has been living in Delhi since their marriage.
Alarming rise in anti-Muslim attacks in Train
There has been a concerning surge in attacks on Muslim passengers on trains in recent years. This disturbing trend is exemplified by several incidents, including, in August, 2024, an elderly Muslim man was brutally beaten by fellow passengers on a train near Nashik district, Maharashtra, in September, 2024, a group of Madrasa students traveling in a general coach were assaulted by two allegedly intoxicated assailants in route to Mumbai.
In July 2023, a shocking incident occurred on the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express, where a Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable, Chetan Singh, fatally shot four individuals, including an Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) and three Muslim passengers, near Palghar Railway Station in Mumbai Suburbs.
Related:
Uttar Pradesh: Where women live in fear
Crimes against women highest in Uttar Pradesh: NCRB 2020 report