Attack on newspaper agent: Family accuses police of inaction

Mangalore, May 16: The miscreants, who brutally assaulted a newspaper agent and ransacked his house at Katipalla on the outskirts of the city early on Wednesday morning are out in the open. The inefficiency of the police in nabbing the culprits has irked the family members of the victim.

The managing committee of Muhiyuddin Juma Masjid, Katipalla also extending complete support to the miscreants, said a female member of the family of Abdul Salam, who had sustained severe injuries during the assault.

“We had approached police expecting justice. FIR also has been registered. However, now we feel that police has decided not to take any action against the culprits thanks to the money power of the management committee of the Masjid,” she said.

“Masjid managing committee President Saleem Rafi and Khatheeb Sharief Baqavi and local Corporator Basheer Ahmed too have been informed about the incident. However none of them have visited the injured so far,” she added.

Assailants hospitalized

She said that after coming to know that victim has lodged a police complaint following Wednesday morning's attack, nine assailants had got admitted to Government Wenlock Hospital in the city probably on the instructions of Masjid committee. However, when they came to know that Abdul Salam had mentioned the names of only two accused among them, seven of them got discharged immediately and only two accused continued to be in the hospital, she said.

Even though police was informed about one of the accused attending a marriage party, they did not take any steps to nab him, she alleged.

Unprovoked attack

According to Abdul Salam there was no argument between him and the assailants preceding the attack. He was distributing newspapers on Wednesday morning too. When his motorbike reached Shamsuddin Circle (Main Circle) at second block, Katipalla, at around 4:45 a.m. a group of people were tying bunting to decorate the street ahead of the inauguration of the renovated building of Muhiyuddin Juma Masjid managed by Panambur Muslim Jamath.

Unexpectedly, a part of the decoration strip was lying on the road and it got stuck with the motorcycle that Abdul Salam was riding.

He asked the group not to keep buntings by the roadside and not cause obstruction to motorists. As Abdul Salam left the place, the group chased and assaulted him in his house.

Social Activist

Muneer Katipalla, the state vice president of Democratic Youth Federation of India, said that Abdul Salam was a good social activist and he always raised voice for the poor and the downtrodden section in Muslim community. He never indulged in any anti-social activities, he said.

“It seems that the miscreants might have assaulted him only because of the fact that he was associated with Jamiat Ahle Hadees, an organization, which strongly opposes priesthood in Muslim society,” he said.

45-year-old Abdul Salam also owns a periodical and actively participates in religious activities of Jamiat Ahle Hadees in his area, sources said.

Also Read:

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