Bantwal : A group of 40Muslim youth attackers in town on Wednesday Nov.27, attacked and assaulted a local journalist of evening daily V T Prasad in broad daylight  when he was supposed to have helped a poor Muslim woman, Aleema to build her cottage which was in bad shape, with contributions from his friends. A group of Muslim youth also contributed certain materials to build this cottage but Prasad did not utilize any of such materials, causing heart burns among the youth, who turned against him.

It is said that Aleema compliant to the police that Prasad was intent to rape her on the pretext of helping her to build a cottage but such an allegation was denied by Prasad and his friends who had helped the woman out of charity.

Prasad in his statement to the police, who had admitted him to a Private  hospital in Bantwal and later shifted into a Mangalore Hospital, said that he never raped Aleema nor intended do so. She was forced by the groups of 40 youths to complain against him because he did not utilize their materials in renovating the cottage of Aleema.

The materials he stated, were of poor quality and old a such, he could not use them while renovating Aleema’s cottage to enable her to live in there. The police have since arrested a handful of leaders among the 40 assaulters. Who had misunderstood Prasad and had given him a bad name for the good work that he had carried out for a poor Muslim woman called Aleema.

The Vitla police have registered a case against the youth for injuring Prasad by calling him out of his house and beating him brutally.