Tension mounts in Muzaffarnagar after imam is ‘assaulted’ by juveniles

Tension was mounting in Sarvat Kajiyan locality in Muzaffarnagar district on Monday (March 9, 2026) after an Imam was attacked and beaten by youths of another community. A video of the incident has gone viral. Locals have demanded strict action against the culprits.

On March 8, the imam, Hafeez Abdul Wahab, was on his way to offer namaz on a bike, when he was drawn into a verbal altercation with local youths, who attacked and brutally beat him up. The incident was captured on CCTV camera. The injured person was sent to the district hospital and later transferred to Meerut for treatment. Locals created an uproar and police rushed to control the situation.

“The incident happened due a minor altercation. The injured is being treated. We have registered a case following a complaint by the injured man and two youths have been arrested; they are juveniles. As the locality is sensitive, we are maintaining a vigil in the area, and everything is under control,” Siddharth K Misra, Circle Officer City, Muzaffarnagar, told The Hindu. 

The Opposition Congress has alleged such incidents are part of a broader pattern to disturb communal harmony at a local level. “An organised pattern is at play across Western U.P. to disturb communal harmony through localised incidents aimed at terrorising minorities, this is the latest of many such incidents; we demand strict action against the accused. In Muzaffarnagar, as the communal divide is getting blurred, the right-wing ecosystem is working hard to create faultlines. The administration in sensitive districts must prioritise communal harmony,” said Shahnawaz Alam, National Secretary, Congress.