Mangaluru: Muslim cleric assaulted by group of miscreants near Mudipu

Mangaluru, Nov 30: A group of miscreants waylaid a cleric of a mosque and brutally assaulted him without any provocation when he was riding his motorbike Mudungarakatte in Balepuni near Mudipu on the outskirts of the city.

The victim has been identified as Muneer Ahmed Saqafi, who has been workings as cleric of the mosque located at KC Road for the past one-and-a-half years.

The attack took place when he was on his way home located at Kolnad near Salethur. According to the eye witnesses, a group of five men waylaid the cleric in front of a government school in Mudungarakatte and allegedly assaulted him with sticks and iron rods.

When the news began to spread, a group of local residents, including eye witnesses gathered in front of the Konaje police station and demanded the arrest of the culprits.

One of the eye witnesses said that even though one of the assailants was wandering near the police station, cops failed to nab him.

They also accused police inspector Sudhakar of shielding the accused and trying to cover up the case.

Meanwhile, one of the suspects, identified as Prashant, was taken into custody by the police for questioning.

Mistaken identity?

A few local residents expressed suspicion that the attackers might have had mistaken the cleric for a person in Mudungarakatte who had allegedly been misbehaving with women.

However, within hours after a complaint was lodged by the victim at Konaje police station, a woman approached the police and lodged a complaint against the victim accusing him of harassing her.

In the evening, a meeting was held between the both the complainants in the presence of local zilla panchayat member Santosh Kumar Rai Boliyar and social worker SK Hazar of Mudipu at the police station. As a result a compromise was reached and the both the complainants decided to withdraw cases.

Local residents are of the opinion that the anti social elements in Mudipu region have been trying to disrupt the peace in the society ahead of zilla panchayat elections for political gains.