In a brutal case of intolerance, an 80-year-old Hindu man named Gokal Das, a resident of Hayat Pitafi in a remote village of Ghotki district in Pakistan, was savagely beaten up until he was left bleeding – that too by a policeman. And you would be shocked to know why the old man was beaten up.

According to the reports, Gokal Das was beaten up for eating rice outside his home at 6.30 PM, exactly 40 minutes before iftaar, the ceremonial daily end of the Islamic fasting period. The policeman, identified as Ali Hassain, has been arrested after the family of Gokal Das posted pictures of him being beaten and bruised badly on social media.

Social and civil right activists as well as ordinary citizens criticized the brutal act exhibited by the policeman in their social media posts and demanded exemplary punishment for him. Even Bakhtawar Bhutto, daughter of the former Prime Minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto tweeted about the incident:

If our law justifies ban on public eating during roza; then beef ban in India & hijab ban in France are also justified. #apartheid

— Nudrrat Khawaja (@NudrratKhawaja) June 11, 2016

A policeman in #Ghotki beat up an elderly Hindu man 4 eating before iftar. The policeman has been arrested #ZeroTolerance #Justice4GokalDas

— Bakhtawar B-Zardari (@BakhtawarBZ) June 11, 2016

The cop Ali Hassan who beat up #GokalDas is now under police custody in Ghotki, Sindh. pic.twitter.com/Y4DIKuE9Go

— Naila Inayat (@nailainayat) June 12, 2016

“The incident occurred last Thursday (9 June) in Ghotki where Das was selling Iftaari items before Iftaar and Hussain claimed he also saw him eating a banana. The constable showed high-handedness in dealing with the matter and he thrashed the old man who was rescued by citizens,” a local official was cited as saying.

According to Ehtiram-e-Ramadan (Respect for Ramadan), a law passed by Pakistani dictator Zia ul Haq, it is illegal to drink or eat in public during Ramadan, no matter what religion you belong to. There have been reports of vigilante violence against minorities who break this law.

The policeman was reportedly arrested on charges of torturing and injuring Gokal Das.