MT Desk: An Imam who led the prayer at a mosque in Maharashtra`s Anwa village was attacked by unidentified individuals who entered the place of worship and beat him up for refusing to chant `Jai Shri Ram`. Speaking to India Today, the Imam, Zakir Sayyed Khaja, said the incident took place on Sunday at around 7.30 pm when he was sitting inside the mosque reading the Quran.
Unidentified individuals entered the mosque with cloth over their faces and forced the Imam to chant `Jai Shri Ram` while he was reading the Quran. When the Imam refused to do as he was told, three individuals took him outside the mosque and beat him up. The Imam said his attackers used a chemical-laced cloth to make him unconscious. When he regained consciousness, he realized that his beard had been cut off.

When people arrived at the mosque for the prayer at 8 pm, they found him lying outside in an unconscious state. They rushed him to a government hospital in Sillod. He was later shifted to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in Aurangabad where he is currently undergoing treatment.
After the incident came to light, police arrived at Anwar village where the mosque is located and started investigating the case. A case was registered at the Paradh police station in Bhokardan against the unidentified individuals under Sections 452 (trespassing after preparation for hurt, assault), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 34 (criminal act by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi also took to social media to demand Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendr Fadnavis to take strict action against the attackers.

Following the incident, security has been tightened in the village and a large number of police personnel has been deployed to maintain the peace in the area.