Moradabad Man Arrested For Molestation After 'Falsely' Claiming He Was Forced To Chant Religious Slogans On Train

A 46-year-old businessman from Moradabad, Asim Hussain, was arrested on Tuesday (17 January) by the Government Railway Police (GRP) for allegedly molesting a woman on a train.

Hussain had previously lodged an FIR claiming that he was beaten up and forced to shout religious slogans by his co-passengers on the same train, the Padmavat Express, on 13 January.

He had also claimed that his beard was pulled and money stolen during the incident.

However, on Tuesday afternoon, a 20-year-old woman filed an FIR against Hussain at the GRP's Moradabad office, claiming that he touched her inappropriately while she was travelling on the aforementioned train on 12 January.

She stated that a man, who had initially asked her to sit next to him as the coach was overcrowded, started to touch her inappropriately, to which she objected and started to weep.

The woman also claimed that co-passengers got angry and beat the man when he was trying to molest her.

The victim woman's statement was recorded under Section 164 of the CrPC before a magistrate.

Following the victim's statement, the Moradabad GRP produced Hussain before the Railway Magistrate, and he was sent to jail on Tuesday evening.

The police had initially been under pressure from social media groups and Muslim leaders, including MPs and Opposition parties, to lodge an FIR over the incident.

GRP had also arrested two men, Satish Kumar (23) of Rae Barely and Suraj Kumar (25) of Pratapgarh, on charges of breach of peace , but they were later released on bail.

The incident of Hussain being beaten in the train went viral on social media, and Muslim leaders, including MPs, and opposition parties put the BJP and RSS in the dock over the issue, especially after Mohan Bhagwat's statement a few days earlier in which he had assured that Muslims in the country have nothing to fear.

“We had been claiming since 12 January, after we conducted our inquiry, that the charges of the businessman that his beard was pulled and he was forced to chant religious slogans besides that his co-passengers had beaten him with belts and also looted Rs 2200, were false. It took nearly four days for us to trace the victim as we identified her through available CCTV footage and now the accused has been sent to jail,” Aparna Gupta, SP, GRP, Moradabad, was quoted by the Indian Express as saying.

Gupta added that the GRP's stand from the day one "has been vindicated and now the culprit is behind the bars".