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New Delhi: Shortly before he died, Imam Tousif Raza called his wife and pleaded for help, saying fellow passengers were beating him. Days later, a post-mortem report accessed by The Wire recorded multiple ante-mortem injuries, including fractures in all ribs. His family has alleged that he was assaulted on board a train before his body was found near railway tracks in Bareilly. 

On April 26, 2026, 29-year-old cleric Mohammad Tousif Raza spoke to his wife, Tabassum, three times in quick succession around 9:45 pm.

Screenshots of Tousif’s call log, seen by The Wire, show that one of them was a video call. His wife’s number is saved as ‘Jaan’ (beloved) in his phone. His last calls to Tabassum construe what could be a crucial piece of evidence: a 29-second audio recording that suggests he was attacked by a group of men while travelling on the Rishikesh-to-Muzaffarpur Special Train.

Tousif who had got married two years ago was returning after taking part at the annual Urs in Bareilly held between April 24 and 25. A blood-stained and soiled railway ticket, later recovered from Tousif’s pocket, with an ironic ‘Shubh Yatra (Happy Journey)’ message on it, from Bareilly Junction in Uttar Pradesh to Siwan junction in Bihar, is another painful reminder of what would be his last journey home. 

File photo of Tousif Raza. Photo: By arrangement.

Frantic after receiving Tousif’s calls, Tabassum tried to reach him several times. Her subsequent calls went unanswered, the family learnt about Tousif’s death the following morning, on April 27.

Speaking to local reporters, Tousif’s father, Mohammad Abul Hussain, said, “At 7 am, my daughter-in-law informed me that Tousif had been assaulted and that there was no response on his mobile phone after that. Around 9:30 am, I called my son’s number again. This time, someone identifying himself as a member of the Bareilly police answered the call and said that my son was in a serious condition and needed medical attention.”

“My other son, Razzaq, then called Tousif’s number again and insisted on speaking with him. This time, the voice at the other end said, ‘How can we make you speak with your brother? He is no more’,” Hussain added.

Tousif’s body had been found near the railway tracks in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly district on April 27.

‘Skull cap he usually wore had fallen off’

On April 30, Mujahid Alam, a former Janata Dal (United) MLA who is currently with the Rashtriya Janata Dal, met Tousif’s family at Bakhotoli village in Bihar’s Kishanganj district.

Screenshot of outgoing calls from Tousif’s phone to his wife.

Speaking to The Wire about the sequence of events as narrated by........

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