New Delhi: Pakistan-born writer Tarek Fatah, now a Canadian citizen, on Monday said he was heckled and attacked by a mob at an Urdu poetry festival in the heart of the capital.
Fatah, 67, alleged that even the police sided with the crowd of some 100 frenzied mainly young crowd until a Deputy Commissioner of Police reached the scene and apologised.
Fatah, who is also the founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress, said the incident took place when he was attending the Jashn-e-Rekhta festival at Janpath on Sunday.
“I am happy as a 67-year-old I was able to confront 20-year-old Urdu jihadists. Hundred howling hyenas let loose on me,” he tweeted.
Witnesses present on the scene said that Fatah had referred to some of the youngsters in the group as “jihadis”, which led to the protests.
“If you say things against a certain religion, its people will naturally get angry,” said Shakeb Ahmad, one of the protestors, according to media reports.
Fatah has denied the allegations that he provoked the protests.
The Canadian alleged that instead of protecting him, the police “manhandled me, claiming I was the reason why the crowd was upset and that I should leave the premises”.
He said when the policemen tried to drag him away, he stood his ground and sat on a chair for some two hours until a senior officer came and apologised for his colleagues’ conduct.
Fatah accused the organisers of abandoning him and said he suspected it were they who sent the mob after him.
The organisers on their part said that Fatah had not been officially invited to the event.
A spokesman for the organisers said: “Ours is an apolitical event. We have a small team and the volunteers were busy organising the lined-up events. When we saw that it was turning ugly we decided to call the police to provide him [Fatah] security.”
As per media reports, the police said they have yet to receive a complaint in connection with the incident. “The situation was brought under control by officers deployed at the venue,” said Special Commissioner of Delhi Police (New Delhi range) MK Meena. “No complaint has been received in connection with the matter.”
