Mohan Kuthar
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Nov 30: A moilar of a mosque was allegedly assaulted by a group of youths at Mudungarakatte in Balepuni, Mudipu here on Monday November 30. The locals who came in support of the moilar claimed that the attackers had mistaken him for someone else.
Muneer Ahmed Saqafi has been workings as moilar (in-charge) of the mosque located at BC Road for the past one-and-a-half years. On Monday November 30, he was riding towards his house at Kolnad in Salethur when five persons who came in two bikes waylaid him in front of Mudungarakatte government school and allegedly assaulted him with iron rods.
The locals who were witness to the assault approached the Konaje police to lodge a complaint. They saw the attackers standing in front of the police station, it is said.
The locals then demanded that the attackers be arrested on the spot. Muneer's supporters claimed that police inspector Sudhakar was purposely 'shielding' the accused despite the demand for arrest. As more people began to gathering and voices demanding the arrest of the attackers grew stronger, a tense situation prevailed. Finally, to pacify the crowd, the Konaje police arrested one of the accused, identified as Prashant.
'Mistaken identity'
It is alleged that a teacher at a Madrasa in Mudungarakatte had been harassing a female elected representative of the local panchayat by making lewd remarks and sexual gestures at her. The attackers had mistaken the Muneer for the Madrasa teacher and hence assaulted him, the locals said, adding that Muneer was innocent.
Compromise
Muneer lodged a complaint against six persons, while the woman representative alleged that it was indeed Muneer who had sexually harassed her, and filed a complaint against him. The Konaje police accepted complaints from both the sides and registered the cases.
However, by evening, local zilla panchayat member Santosh Kumar Rai Boliyar and social worker S K Hazar of Mudipu intervened in the matter and a meeting was called in the Konaje police station in the presence of higher police officials. A compromise was reached and it was decided that both the parties would settle the court case, sources said.
S K Hazar and Santosh Boliyar were of the opinion that with zilla panchayat elections approaching, there would be more such untoward incidents, but they would not let the situation get out of hand.