Scared of being lynched, Indian Muslim man dons burqa

In what seems to be another case of embarrassment for the government of India, a Muslim man in Uttar Pradesh resorted to wearing a burqa to conceal his identity as he was scared of being lynched.

According to a news report published in the Indian media, travelers at the Agra railway station alerted Government Railway Police (GRP) after observing suspicious movements of a burqa-clad individual. The police immediately detained him.

The man identified as Nazmul Hassan, an assistant engineer in Aligarh's Kasimpur power station, told the GRP that he wanted to hide his identity as he was scared of being lynched for being a Muslim man, reported Times of India.

The man told police officials that he had to frequently travel to Delhi to take care of an ailing cousin and had accidentally pushed a man while alighting at the Aligarh railway station last week.

According to him, the man insulted him and his religion in full public view and threatened him openly, as others joined in, that they would not allow him to live in the city.

"I had read about Junaid's killing in a train in Ballabhgarh a few days ago. I was scared for my life after the threat, but couldn't avoid traveling. So I thought of wearing a burqa," he told cops.

Senior sub-inspector (GRP), who is one of the investigating officers in the case, said, "We found nothing suspicious in his statement to police. Different agencies verified that his act of wearing burqa was born out of his fear following the incident that occurred with him at the railway station last week".

"When Hassan was handed over to the GRP, he was crying and shaking and kept repeating that he is a simple man who has never done anything wrong," said police.

A Muslim teenager, Junaid, was stabbed to death while his brothers, Hashim and Sakir-- were injured by a mob which also allegedly hurled slurs against them onboard the Delhi-Mathura passenger train between Ballabgarh and Mathura stations.