A 45-year-old Muslim hawker was allegedly thrashed by two men in Madhya Pradesh's Dewas district for not showing his Aadhaar card to prove his identity when asked.
The incident took place on Thursday, 26 August, according to India Today.
Police said that two unidentified persons asked Zaheer Khan, a resident of Amlataz village, to show his Aadhaar card when he was selling biscuits on Borli Road, 60 km from Dewas city.
Khan was reportedly accosted by two men who asked him to show them his Aadhaar card. When he failed to show it as he was not carrying it, the two men thrashed him with sticks and belts, leaving him with minor injuries on his hands and legs.
The Additional Superintendent of Police (Rural) Suryakant Sharma said that the victim has lodged a complaint with the Hatpiplia police station.
The case has been registered under IPC sections 294 (abusing), 323 (causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34.
Khan has reportedly claimed that he can identify the two men who beat him from their faces but is not aware of their names. According to him, both of them are residents of Borli village and threatened him, warning him to not come again to sell goods in the village, reported India Today.
Khan has also reportedly complained that many people from the village witnessed the incident but did not come to his rescue till much later.
The matter is now under investigation, police have said.
The incident comes days after a bangle seller in Indore was thrashed by a mob for trying to hide his Muslim identity.
(With inputs from Quint Hindi and India Today.)
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