Mumbai: Dongri police have arrested four persons, including a minor boy, for allegedly assaulting a religious leader, Maulana Khalid Ashraf, and his two sons with sticks and chairs on Sunday. The assault took place after a local boy hit the scooter of the Maulana’s son Moiz in Pala galli.Police have registered a case of attempt to murder under the BNS against Mohammad Jina Parez Khan (24), Sahil Manzil Masjid Khan (18), and Majid Khalid Khan (45), while the minor boy has been booked under the relevant provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act. Several community leaders visited Dongri police station and demanded stern action against the culprits.After the Sunday incident, Moiz called up his father. “He told me that the boy and his father were hurling abuses at him. I told Moiz to come home. We thought the matter had settled,” said Ashraf.The situation escalated when Ashraf and his two sons were confronted later that evening near Daud Fazal High School in Dongri as they were heading for a family function at Zakaria Masjid near Mohammed Ali Road. “One of the accused identified my son and called others. Soon a mob of around 15 men gathered and attacked us with sticks, bamboos, and chairs. My sons received grievous injuries,” Ashraf said. “I kept saying, ‘I am an imam, I am Syed (from the Prophet’s family)’...but they continued raining blows on me. They intended to kill me.”Local MLA Amin Patel, who arranged to take Ashraf and his sons for medical check-up at J J Hospital, said, “Ashraf is a widely respected religious scholar. The assault on him and his sons at a busy place is shocking and shameful,” he said.Police confirmed that the arrested accused have no prior criminal records, and further investigations are underway to identify and apprehend the other suspects involved in the assault.Ashraf told TOI that he has issued video clips appealing to his followers not to take law and order in their hands. “I want justice and want police to take appropriate action. I have asked my followers to remain peaceful,” he added.
