New Delhi: Two days after he was brutally assaulted on a street in northeast Delhi, Mohammad Zubair said he had only stepped out to attend namaaz and buy sweets for his children when he was confronted by a mob wielding lathis and iron rods.

In an interview to Indian Express, Zubair said the men used racial slurs and took BJP leader Kapil Mishra’s name as they launched the attack, the photo of which went viral on Tuesday.

“They beat me till they broke me. I begged them and they beat me some more, viciously. They made communally charged slurs and took (BJP leader) Kapil Mishra’s name. I don’t remember much. I just hoped my children were safe. I can’t bear to look at my photograph, my legs shiver with pain,” Zubair was quoted as saying by Indian Express.

The mob beat him till he lost consciousness. He suffered multiple injuries to his army and legs, and was taken to GTB hospital by passersby. He has since been discharged from the hospital and is presently living with his cousin in another part of the city, away from the area where violent clashes broke out between two communities on Monday.

He works as a labourer and has two daughters and a son, all under six. Fearing for their safety, he has now sent them to his village in UP while the rest of his family remains in Chand Bagh, the area where he was attacked.

The report said Zubair’s family continues to live in fear and his younger brother has locked everyone inside their two-room house. His brother is not in the favour of filing an FIR and says their fight right now is only for survival.

The Delhi Police on Tuesday said 11 FIRs have been registered in connection with the violence in northeast Delhi, in which 18 people have been killed so far, and the force is responding to incidents involving anti-social elements.

All private and government schools in Northeast Delhi will remain closed on Wednesday and CBSE board exams scheduled in centres in the areas have been postponed.