Asif Shaikh, 36, did not anticipate that his train ride from Kankavli to Mumbai would cause him such distress, injuries, and legal fight after surviving a right-wing group... twice.
Asif works in lights business on contract basis. He has been married to Jasmin Shaikh, 27, for six years, and along with their daughters, four-year-old Amina and two-year-old Wabisha, they travelled in Madgaon LTT express at 3:45 pm on 19 January.
A short while later, a group of 15-20 boys, who seemed to be students, had onboarded the train. "They were yelling Jai Shri Ram and telling everyone to say it. I did not pay much attention at first."
"My wife was wearing a burqa. After sometime, they came to us. We overheard the students saying 'inse jai shri ram bulwana hai' and then told my wife to do it too."Asif Shaikh to The Quint
Asif alleged that one of them who was sitting at the top berth, "poured hot tea on his four-year-old daughter's face."
At this point, Asif got up and told them to hit him and leave his family alone. The mob allegedly pushed him and then the TT (train ticket examiner) came in. Asif informed him but the TT went away.
Asif wrote to the railway authorities and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Railway authorities then informed him that he will get help at the Panvel station.
As the events unfolded at Panvel station, Asif stated on being questioned the group of students admitted to their hateful behaviour and yet, the police let them go.
Another policeman shouted that there is no need for an FIR, he claimed.
Asif alleges that one of the female students was asked to forcibly confess that amid the brawl, Asif hit her and the police hence, filed a cross complaint.
"They all know it's not true, I had never even seen the girl before. My wife and I were shocked because the boys had admitted to their behaviour but still, they filed another false complaint, I had nothing to do with," he said.
They filed Asif's FIR at 6 am in the morning and then transferred the case to Kankavli.
The Mob That Gathered Outside Their Home
Asif's family alleged that on the morning of 25 January, a mob of 50-60 men had gathered at their place in Wadwad, Kankavli. They allegedly intimidated him to retract the FIR filed at Panvel station.
Asif called the police which took them to Kankavli police station.
"A mob of over a hundred people was already present at the station. They saw us and started shouting Jai Shri Ram slogans. They were doing it in front of the police but still the police didn't do anything," alleged Asif.
He also alleged that BJP's Nitesh Rane, the MLA of Kankavli constituency, had come to the station and threatened them.
Asif added, "The ACP and PSI were also present. Rane spoke very rudely and disrespectfully to me and my wife. There's a camera in that room, the whole conversation must have been recorded on it."
Speaking to The Quint, Rane said, "If I had given a threat or warning like that, it would have been in front of the PI. I didn't say any such comment but told the police to take appropriate action asap."
Asif has filed an application get the CCTV footage of the station, in context of this conversation. The Quint also has a copy of the application.
Hours later, they went home with the PSI. Asif showed him the mob outside their home. The PSI allegedly told him, "nothing will happen, you go inside."
'My Little Daughters Were Screaming'
"They didn't just hit me but my wife and my child as well. They thrashed and recorded too," recalled Asif. In the video that went viral, it can be seen that Asif was purportedly dragged to the ground, brutally thrashed by a group of men who are shouting "Jai Shri Ram Bol."
Jasmin stated that her youngest daughter was standing a little far as she was too scared to move and was crying.
She narrated, "I had gone to the washroom. When I came our, I saw the crowd, then I saw them beating up Asif and he felt dizzy. They hit him many times. When we went to save him, that's when my daughter was also hit on her face above her cheek."
The mob beating Asif in Kankavli.
(Photo: Screenshot from video accessed by The Quint)
"My four-year-old got hit on her face with a stick. My wife got hit as well. And I was pulled and brutally beaten up. I got a minor fracture on my right leg, they hit me with a broad stick behind my ears so there's injury there. They were just hitting us, they didn't see if it's me or my child. She was screaming and crying."Asif Shaikh to The Quint
Asif Shaikh after the mob assault was severely injured.
(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)
Jasmin alleged that one of the men even caught hold of our daughter when she fell to the ground crying but I snatched her away from them.
"She was trembling and she got fever when she saw it all happened," said Jasmin.
"They kept thrashing him and held me back. They hit us again. Asif was almost unconscious by then."Jasmin, Asif's Wife to The Quint
Asif says that one of the members of the mob was a district level BJP leader.
When nothing was working, Asif stated that he contacted Congress leader Arif Naseem Khan and who helped in getting an FIR filed in this matter.
The Quint has accessed a copy of Kankavli FIR as well which includes IPC sections such as 144, 148, 323 etc, charges of unlawful assembly, causing hurt, rioting and outraging religious feelings along with section 135 of Maharashtra Police Act, 1951.
Talking about both the cases filed against Asif, BJP MLA Nitesh Rane stated that the case is essentially between Asif and the girls from the group he met on the train.
As for the mob attack outside his house and Sawant's alleged involvement, Rane said, "When he got back home, they were all the villagers who took a stand, though they did it aggressively. There's nothing related to any party of BJP, Congress or Shiv Sena, Asif very well knows those people too."
PSI Munde of Kankavli station told The Quint, "The sections that have been mentioned in the FIR, they don't mandate or direct for arrest, as per the SC guidelines. Only the crime which has a punishment for more than 7 years, we arrest in those cases."
Munde added that a notice of 41A (1) to inform the accused to show up to the police station, to record their statements and for further investigation, has also been sent to them
Another 'Case' Against Asif
Asif alleges he has been booked under another "false" case.
In an unrelated case of a local rickshaw driver Salman who had put up a social media story, that "hurt religious sentiments," Asif has been named in it too.
He stated, "They have also booked me in a false case on the same day. There was some 295A case of one Salman who had put an Instagram story weeks ago, they wrote my name along with his in the complaint."
In this case, Sawant claimed that on 25 January around 4:30 PM, he went to the area where Salman lived and Asif arrived there. He threatened them and then got a stick and hit them with it too."
"There's also a big contradiction. At the time that they have said I was involved in creating a ruckus and beating people in Salman's case, I was the one who was being beaten up by the mob at that time on the same day."Asif Ahmad to The Quint
Copy of case Asif has been booked in.
(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)
Salman has reportedly also stated that Asif has nothing to do with his case. The Quint reached out to Salman but he has refused to speak to media at the moment.
PSI Munde said, "If Asif Shaikh has filed a complaint, then the other party has also filed a complaint. Both the parties have a right to file a complaint. There's a Santosh Pujari, he filed a complaint that Asif hit him with a stick."
On being asked about Sawant's alleged involvement in the mob assault, Munde said, "Police does not see (political) party. A criminal is a criminal, we don't see the party. Maybe, some of them are party members and some are not but they're all from different affiliations and some are not."
Asif said he still hasn't been given his medical papers from the hospital yet.
Worried for their own safety, Asif and Jasmin echo the same sentiments: "How will we explain this to our young girls? They're scarred and scared after watching their father being beaten up."
(The Quint also reached out PSI Shedge at Kankavli station but he refused to make any comments).
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)