BAREILLY: The body of a 35-year-old Muslim cleric was found on railway tracks here, with a family member alleging that he was thrown off a train, a claim denied by the police, officials said on Saturday.
Bareilly Superintendent of Police (City) Manush Pareek said that the body was discovered on the morning of April 27 along railway tracks near Lal Phatak under the Cantt police station area.
Eyewitnesses told the police that the deceased, Maulana Tausif Raza Mazhari, a resident of Thakurganj in Bihar, had fallen from the train, he said.
Police contacted the cleric's family members and local religious leaders and learnt that he had come to Bareilly to attend the 'Urs-e-Tajushsharia' event held on April 24-25.
No formal complaint has been received so far, and it is yet to be ascertained whether there was an assault or robbery angle, police said.
The body has been sent for a post-mortem and an investigation is underway, they said.
However, All India Muslim Jamaat President Maulana Shahabuddin Razvi Barelvi alleged that the cleric was assaulted by "anti-social elements" in the train while returning home and thrown out during an attempted robbery.
He further claimed that during the assault, the cleric had called his wife, Tabassum Khatoon, narrating the incident.
Razvi said police have assured an impartial investigation and action in the matter.