New Delhi: In yet another alarming incident of religious hate crime, Hafiz Obaidullah Qasmi, a Quran tutor, was violently assaulted by three unidentified men in Delhi’s Laxminagar area on the night of March 10. The assailants not only thrashed him mercilessly but also hurled Islamophobic slurs, calling him “Pakistani” and “Kathmullah” while one of them reportedly pointed a pistol at him.
Obaidullah, who also works as a salesman at a textile shop during the day, was returning after conducting a Quran lesson at the residence of Nawab Akhtar in Guru Ramdas Nagar. As he rode his bike through the Mangal Bazar area around 10:30 PM, he noticed three young men walking towards him. To avoid any confrontation, he stopped at a distance, but the attackers immediately surrounded him.
According to his complaint, one of the attackers, who identified himself as Deepak, claimed to be a Brahmin and declared that “mullahs” would not be allowed to live in the country. They began assaulting him, dragging him to the ground and kicking him repeatedly while bystanders watched in silence. The attackers also attempted to snatch his purse.
A few people eventually intervened and urged him to flee. With the help of two boys, he managed to escape to the house of Nawab Akhtar, leaving his scooter behind. The attackers reportedly fled in a car that had “Mahadev with a tiger symbol” painted on its back.
Despite the severity of the attack and Obaidullah’s written complaint, the police have not yet registered an FIR. The incident has raised concerns over rising religious intolerance and police inaction in hate crime cases.
