Mumbai: An elderly Muslim shop owner, Rafat Hussain, was allegedly harassed and abused by Hindutva women in Juhu, Mumbai. He claimed they targeted him for his religious identity.
Although the incident occurred on Saturday, June 13, the video of the shop owner went viral days later. According to Hussain, four women entered his shop, Mannat Ethnic Designer showroom, and what followed was a routine customer interaction.
“It was around 3:30 pm on a Saturday, 4 women came in saying there was a wedding at our house and we needed shervani for the wedding,” Hussain recounted. The women then asked him to show suits as well.
“Matllab baate karte karte unhone aise alfaaz istemaal karna chalu kiye toh mujhe kuch shak sa paida hone laga ki kahi mere saath kuch galath toh nai hora hai (I mean, as we kept talking, they started using the kind of language that made me suspicious, like something bad might be happening to me),” the shop owner said.
“Aur wohi hua (that is exactly what happened),” he added.
Hussain alleged that the group of women suddenly stood and “seedha mere saath badtameezi karne lagi (started being rude to me).”
“Bole tum musalmaan ho, tumlog aisi tareekhe se rahte ho aur tumlog johe galath tareekhe se kaam karte ho (They said ‘you are a Muslim; you live in a certain way, and you do things in the wrong way.’)”
He tried to escape them and ran straight to the nearest police station, where he told the officers on duty the whole incident. Under 20-25 minutes, Hussain said, a mob of nearly 150 people gathered around the police station. “Woh naare lagate hai jo aajkal pure Hindustan me lagrahe hai (They began raising slogans that you can hear all over India currently).”
While the police officers escorted the shop owner to safety, some individuals from the mob attempted to climb inside the police station. “Unki itni himmat thi ke police station ke andar kam se kam 20 25 chokre chadke aare the mujhe maar ne ke liye (they were brazen enough for at least 20 or 25 young men to storm the police station to attack me.)”
He alleged that instead of action taken against the attackers, the women registered a first information report against him. While hiding inside the station, he called All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) national spokesperson Waris Pathan and sought his assistance.
Hussain claimed that after his call with Pathan, the police began acting indifferently. “Even after I explained the situation to Waris Bhai, the officer said there was no one there (outside). Meaning that the police officer, Bushan More, was also lying when the crowd of 100-150 were raising such bold slogans,” he said.
The shop owner called AIMIM’s Imtiaz Jaleel as well, who asked to speak to the Deputy Commissioner of Police.
“Abhi mujhe dar lagta hai bas khadne ke liye yeh showroom me. kya maloom kal kaun kaha se ajaye aur mere upar bada haatsa hojaye (I feel scared just standing in this showroom. Who knows who might show up from where tomorrow, and what kind of major accident might befall me?”
“My only crime is that I am sitting in my showroom in Juhu wearing a beard and a cap.”
Hussain strongly suspects that the attack was deliberate and planned in advance. “Seeing what is going on around the country with the Muslim community, this particular incident seems a premeditated act,” he said.
He questioned how the women who supposedly came to buy wedding clothes could gather such a large crowd. “I strongly feel a contract was given to hurt me, but I luckily escaped by running to the police station,” Hussain said.
The video of Hussain recounting the ordeal has sparked widespread outrage online, raising serious questions about communal targeting and police inaction.
