Karnataka: Muslim man, whose shop was vandalised, injured in hit-and-run incident

The shop was vandalised allegedly by members of a right-wing group for keeping the business open till 11 am on the day of temple opening on Oct 8.

Hasab Saab photographed at the hospital. His injured leg is seen in the inset.

A chicken shop owner was injured in a hit-and-run incident after his scooter was rammed from behind by a two-wheeler on Tuesday evening. This comes days after his shop was vandalised by a Hindu right-wing group on the outskirts of Belagavi city in Karnataka.

His wife, who was riding pillion, alleged the accident was “pre-planned”. The couple, Hasan Sab and Afsana Hasan Sab Khureshi, was returning to their home in Yamanpur at the time of the accident.

#Karnataka

Chicken shop owner Hasan Saab suffers injuries after his bike got rammed from behind in a hit and run incident.

His shop was vandalised by a members on the day of local temple event. The police had held compromise meeting. @IndianExpress @IEBengaluru pic.twitter.com/RD4YQDRWwT

— Kiran Parashar (@KiranParashar21) October 20, 2021

Speaking to indianexpress.com, Afsana said, “It was around 7.45 pm, I and my husband were heading back from Belagavi to Yamanapur on our scooter. A bike with probably two persons came from behind and rammed into our vehicle and fled from the spot. They did not even turn back to look and it all happened in the blink of an eye. My husband Hasan has been injured severely in the incident. With the help of locals, we shifted him to the hospital where he is undergoing treatment.”

On October 8, the chicken shop owned by the couple was attacked by a Hindu right-wing group who had previously asked them to close it owing to a temple opening nearby. Though the family had closed the shop, they sent two of their workers to clean it. The group vandalised when they found it open, according to Afsana.

The issue came to light only on Monday when a video of the attack went viral. Prior to that, Afsana said they had approached local police who held a ‘compromise’ meeting. “The police told us that they had settled the matter and would not intervene in our business and told us that there was no need to file a complaint,” she said.

After the video went viral, according to Afsana, another meeting was convened by police but no complaint or action was initiated. Afsana, who sustained minor injuries in the road accident, claimed the hit-and-run was “pre-planned”.

“The intentions of these people are to send us away from the village but we have built a life here. This time, I will file a complaint and the bike accident was pre-planned,” she said.

On Tuesday morning, the local traffic police took statements from Hasan and Afsana.

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