A Muslim man, Rizwan Ahmad, was assaulted at a tea shop in Uttarakhand’s Pauri Garhwal after he refused to chant religious slogans.
Police registered a case and arrested three suspects the next day. Videos of the attack were widely shared online.
Rizwan Ahmad assaulted in Uttarakhand : police act, rights groups flag pattern
In his complaint, Ahmad said the men pulled his beard, abused him, and tried to force him to chant “Jai Shri Ram” and “Bharat Mata ki Jai.”
He escaped through the back of the shop.
Police named the accused and produced them in court. Local reports say sections related to hurt, intimidation, promoting enmity and public order were invoked.
Previous records of litigations in Indian court involving Islamophobic cases has lowest percentage of conviction rates.
The Rizwan Ahmad assault has renewed attention on attacks that target Muslims in India.
Rights monitors and official reviews have documented repeated incidents in recent years and warned of growing intolerance toward minorities.
A recent US religious-freedom report noted killings, assaults and vandalism against minority groups.
Amnesty and USCIRF have raised concerns over discriminatory laws, hate speech and impunity.
For readers in Pakistan, the focus is clear that condemn bigotry everywhere, demand due process, and stand for equal protection of minorities under international law.
Islamabad has consistently called for safety, dignity and accountability in the region.
The immediate next step in this case is legal, preserve evidence, protect the victim, and ensure a trial that tests the facts, not identities.
The Rizwan Ahmad assault is now before the courts. The same courts who repeatedly orders Muslims evacuation from their ancestral homes because of baseless claims by majority.
What happens there will say more than any slogan, about rule of law, police follow-through.
Moreover, whether these repeated warnings from rights bodies translate into real protections on the ground.
