Sambalpur: Police have arrested one person for an alleged assault on a 24-year-old madrasa teacher, Kari Mohammad Riaz, in Odisha’s Sambalpur.
According to police sources, the incident took place around 10 pm on Tuesday near Laxmi Talkies Chhak as Riaz was heading home after getting off at a bus stop. He was waylaid by a group of four to five miscreants, who then allegedly asked him to speak in Odia mistaking him for a settler. When he fumbled, they allegedly beat him with a wooden stick.
Locals stepped in to defuse the situation, and Riaz was taken to a hospital and discharged after treatment.
Meanwhile, his elder lodge a complaint with police and the Muslim community submitted a memorandum to Additional SP (ASP) Ajay K Mishra, demanding swift arrests. They suspect the incident to be the fallout of the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam, where 26 people were gunned down after being identified as Hindus.
The ASP confirmed that one suspect has been arrested and sent to court, with further investigation ongoing.
