The hand of a Muslim man from Haryana’s Nanauta area was severed in an alleged attack by two Hindu men, who used a chainsaw after spotting the number 786—a numeric representation of the Quranic verse Bismillah (In the name of Allah)–tattooed on his arm.
The victim was identified by news website TwoCircles.net (TCN) as 28-year-old Akhlaq, a barber by profession, who was travelling to Panipat in Harayana in search of work when he was attacked by two men as he stopped to rest in the Kishanpura area.
According to Mr. Ikram the two men had beat him up after learning his name. Mr. Akhlaq then approached the nearest house seeking water, not knowing that it belonged to the assailants. This time, Mr. Ikram told TCN, “as they saw 786 written on Akhlaq’s hand, they told him we won’t let this be written on your hand and they cut off his right hand with a chainsaw (a machine used to cut heavy logs of wood).”
The assailants then abandoned a grievously wounded Mr. Akhlaq on a railway track, where he remained unconscious till about 5 am. He was then taken to the Panipat hospital. Mr. Ikram was informed of the incident by an unknown caller.
At the hospital, Mr. Ikram told TCN, Sub-Inspector Balvaan of the Railway Police was already present, who told him that it was a case of accident. “The police seem to have already decided to dismiss the case by calling it an accident,” said Mr. Ikram.
According to Mr. Ikram, Mr. Balvaan summoned the assailants to the police station but let them go. A First Information Report has been lodged at another police station, Thana Chandni Bagh in Panipat. “This is a case of kattarpanthi (extremism),” Mr. Ikram told TCN, “they cut off his hand because 786 was written on his hand.”
