Govind D. Belgaumkar and Sudipto Mondal
The Hindu
MANGALORE, Feb 9: “They wore tilak on their foreheads and kept telling me that non-Hindus are inhuman,” Shruthi, a student of St. Aloysius College here, who was attacked by suspected Hindutva activists on Friday for speaking to a Muslim boy while travelling in a bus, said on Sunday.
She was reacting to reports that the group which attacked and abducted her was from the Democratic Youth Federation of India.
She said that they asked her not to speak to Christians or Muslims because they were “inhuman.” “They insisted that only Hindus are human beings and others are not,” she added.
This is the third such attack reported in the city in the recent past. On August 24, a bus was intercepted at a prominent junction in the city. A Hindu girl and her Muslim fiancé were dragged out of the bus and assaulted by a group.
On August 8, activists of Bajrang Dal stopped a bus in the city and assaulted Syed, Zulfikar and Ameen.
The activists took offence to the fact that these youth helped a few girls with their bags as they did not get seat in the bus. Bajrang Dal leader Sudarshan Moodabidri had claimed responsibility for both the attacks.
Ms. Shruthi said that the people, who had attacked Shabeeb (her friend), had taken away his cellphone. Shabeeb tried to call his friends when the group surrounded him.
She said that she was not able to contact Shabeeb to find out his whereabouts and condition.