Haridwar, Feb. 25 -- Goods transporter Mohammed Firoz, who once confidently travelled across state lines for work, now lives in constant fear.

"If I can be attacked like this, what else is waiting out there?" he questions.

He was recently discharged from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) after he was mercilessly beaten by a mob of around 12 people in Uttarakhand's Haridwar.

The crime - His name is Mohammed Firoz, a Muslim.

In an interview with BBC News Hindi on February 22, he alleged he was targeted for his religious identity. "It was around 11:30 at night. I had just parked my car and checked if anyone was in the office," he recounted.

"I came down from the office and saw that right in front of me, two individuals wer...