New Delhi: A Muslim couple in Mumbai who were allegedly attacked by a crowd in their apartment complex for bringing goats to their flat ahead of the Eid al-Adha festival now have an FIR filed against them.
Police have registered a case against Mohsin and Yasmeen Khan based on a complaint by Suman Mehndiratta, a resident of the same complex, under four sections of the IPC including assault on women, insult with intent to provoke a breach of the peace, criminal intimidation and criminal common intention, the Quint reported.
Mehndiratta alleges that Mohsin verbally abused her and pushed her on the chest. She also said that Yasmeen started “calling people” during a disagreement between the two parties.
Before this, the Khans had also filed police complaints following their altercation with the crowd on the evening of June 27, based on which an FIR was registered against 11 people on the four counts mentioned above as well as four others, the Quint‘s report said.
In her complaint, Yasmeen alleged that the crowd threatened to take away the couple’s goats when they arrived home on June 27.
“To this my husband reacted and they started manhandling us… During the scuffle, they also tore my clothes, forcing me to call police,” she said according to the Indian Express.
Also Read: Hours Before Eid al-Adha, Courts Tackle Last Minute Pleas on Animal Slaughter
The Quint said that at a point of time, the crowd numbered approximately 200 people.
Mohsin also told a Quint reporter that the crowd chanted ‘Jai Shree Ram’ and the Hanuman Chalisa, called him a terrorist and threatened to slaughter a pig inside his home.
Yasmeen said that she even noticed some of her friends in the crowd and felt that they had been “brainwashed”.
Eid al-Adha is a Muslim festival that involves the ritual slaughter of livestock. It fell on June 28 and 29 this year.
In preparation for the festival, some Muslim residents of a specific building within the apartment complex sought for permission from its administrative authority to place their goats at a designated area in the complex.
“We assure you that there will not be any slaughtering done, as this request is just to keep our goats safe and secure for four days as mentioned above. We also assure you that we will take care of security, hygiene and cleanliness,” their letter read according to the Quint.
It continued: “[The] allocation of such a place within the [society’s] jurisdiction will help us to avoid the hassle of bringing the goats to our respective flats.”
Their request was denied. Following this, they approached the police with an “application” to keep the goats in their flats, the Quint reported.
In response, the police met the society’s members and served notices “warning them not to indulge in any practice that affects peace”, the Indian Express‘ report said.
Also Read: Should Muslims Sacrifice Animals on Eid-al-Adha?
Ultimately, the Khans transported goats to their flat at around 4 pm on June 27, following which they were confronted by other residents who claimed that “there is a rule that no livestock is allowed in the complex”.
This confrontation escalated into the scuffle.
A Muslim resident of the complex who wished to remain anonymous told the Quint that such confrontations are not new. He recalled an incident from the month of Ramadan where Hindu residents of the complex called the police over an iftaar party hosted by Muslims in a common area of the complex, despite their receiving permission to do so.
Eid al-Adha has been a source of controversy in other parts of the country as well. Hours ahead of the festival this year, courts were swamped with last-minute pleas from parties seeking either a curb on animal slaughter or permission for it.
“We express our great displeasure that such applications are repeatedly made at the last minute. Bakri Eid [another name for Eid al-Adha] has been on the calendar for the better part of the year,” the Bombay high court said, according to Bar and Bench.
