During the Islamic month of Ramzan, a Pakistani police officer humiliated a Hindu dhaba (small roadside eatery) owner in the small town of Khanpur Mahar, Sindh. His ‘crime’? The Hindu man had dared to open his business to earn a living at a time when Muslims observe fast during the day.

After the video of the Pakistani police officer humiliating a Hindu dhaba owner went viral on social media, the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ghotki has taken action and suspended the officer Muhammad Kabil Bhayo, and ordered an investigation into the incident.

According to video viral on social media, the Station House Officer (SHO) Muhammad Kabil Bhayo forcibly closed down the Hindu business on the grounds that he had ‘violated the religious sanctity of Ramzan’. The Hindu man was then made to swear an oath while the SHO placed a murti on his head, and made derogatory remarks.

Local politicians and human rights activists in the area have strongly denounced the incident. While Muslims observe fast on Ramzan, non-Muslims don’t and should have the right to go about their daily lives.

But such incidents are not new in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. In 2016, an elderly Hindu man Gokal Das was brutally assaulted by a Muslim policeman, Mir Hussain Hydrani, in Sindh, Pakistan for daring to eat in public (just outside his home), 40 minutes before the Iftar (after dusk) meal at which Muslims break their Ramzan fast.