A case of human rights abuse and physical assault on a pilgrim who had gone to the Dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer, Rajasthan to pay ziarat, media reported on Monday (25 September). The victim, Sarwar Hussain, has alleged that the Dargah’s Khadim physically assaulted him and subjected him to inhumane treatment.
According to the victim, the Khadims at the Dargah shaved his head and trimmed half of his moustache for not paying money for ziarat. The victim, Sarwar Hussain, added that the Khadims also looted all his money. Following the incident, the police informed that they had arrested 3 Khadim in this case. The incident reportedly took place on Saturday (23 September 2023).
According to media reports, Sarwar Hussain, a resident of Burhanpur in Madhya Pradesh, filed a police complaint about the incident.
In his complaint, he stated that on 23 September, he visited the Ajmer Sharif Dargah with his friends Manish and Asif to pay homage. When they reached there, one of the Khadim at the Dargah named Syed Rahmat Ali demanded money for Ziarat from all of them.
But when Sarwar Hussain refused, Khadim and his supporters present there started beating him. After beating Sarwar, the accused forcibly took him to another part of the Dargah.
In the complaint, Sarwar added that the accused got his hair shaved and trimmed a part of his moustache. Additionally, they also stole all the money kept in his pocket.
The media reports have identified Khadim Rehmat Ali’s associates as Qasim and Mohammad Faiz Salmani.
In his complaint to the local police, Sarwar Hussain also stated that three women were among those who had beaten and abused him. However, on the contrary, the accused started calling Sarwar a thief and a pickpocket.
Following his complaint, police arrested Khadim Syed Rehmat Ali along with his associates Qasim Shaikh and Faiz Salmani.
While speaking to the media, police station in-charge Jagdish Meena confirmed the action and said that the search for the remaining accused was ongoing.
