On the streets of the capital, Delhi, a policeman assaulted Muslims offering prayers.

Just outside Goa, a Muslim man was beaten by a mob, forced to chant the name of a Hindu deity, one of tens of such videos that have surfaced over the past few years. And in Jaipur in the Northwest, a family devastated by perhaps the most chilling incident of violence against Muslims in India. Umesa Begum's husband was shot dead while he was traveling on a train.

I believe he was killed because he was visibly a Muslim. He had a beard and was wearing a skullcap.

Mohamed Azgar Ali was among three Muslim passengers shot dead by a railway policeman on a train. Filmed here standing with a foot on Azgar's bloodied body, this man, who's meant to protect people, issued a threat seemingly to India's Muslims. We know your masters are in Pakistan, but if you want to live here, vote for Prime Minister Mohamed.. The railway policeman is under arrest, but Asgar's family doesn't believe there will be justice. If his killer was Muslim, he would have been hanged by now. But that won't happen because he's a Hindu, Asgar's daughter Amina I said, No one can return my father to us. Outside, a community that's rattled. India is home to one of the largest Muslim populations in the world. And while religious fault lines have often stoked tensions, the sense of anxiety within the Muslim minority has rarely ever been as deep as it is now under Mr. Modi's government. Evidence that points to a pattern of persecution is often found in rubble.

Human rights groups have recently raised concerns about what they say are illegal demolitions targeted specifically specifically at Muslim homes, businesses, and places of worship in different parts of India. Behind me here is the debris of a mosque in South Delhi. Next to it, there was a Muslim religious school. And here, further up to my right, there was a Muslim graveyard. Now, historians have said that this mosque was at least 600 years old. The government, however, says these were illegal structures, and On one morning in January, they came here with bulldozers and hundreds of police officers and destroyed it all.

The school was home to dozens of children, most of them orphans. Seen in these videos filmed by their teachers before the demolition. They're now scattered. We met 12-year-old Mohamed Zeeshan, temporarily housed at another Islamic school. I feel fear whenever I think of that moment, he said. What are you scared of?

I asked. Bulldozers, a thousand of horse.

Of bulldozers and scores of policemen. They forced us out and didn't allow us to take even our shoes. It was a cold winter morning, Zishan replied. The mosque's cleric told us no demolition notice was given. The government has denied all allegations. In some states, it's accused of using the threat of demolitions against Muslims to stop any protests by the community. We went on the streets of Delhi to find out what impact these events had on the minds of ordinary Muslims.

The most beautiful thing about India is that it has such diversity. But religion has now been weaponized to crush this diversity. And the main victims are Muslims. There is a very major sense of insecurity here. For example, if you take your mic and you walk around here, there won't be many people who would be looking to talk to you. Because they don't want their name or face coming up on TV and being targeted for whatever reason.

The Minister for Minority Affairs didn't reply to the BBC's questions, but we met Zafar Islam, a Muslim spokesman from the ruling party, and asked him to respond to the sense of fear we found in the community.

Say It is not the community which is feeling the heat. It is the opposition parties who are using Muslim community as a shield. They are feeling the heat. Muslim community is absolutely comfortable. They're happy.

But, sir, people have told us this. We have recorded this. Ordinary people, not political parties.

See, if one or two people say such thing, it cannot be true for the entire community. The fact that the Honorable Prime Minister has always treated every citizen at par, And the governance model of the government is such that they believe that every citizen and their needs needs to be protected. Their safety is a priority of the government.

How can you claim to be inclusive if you are not able to get Muslims into parliament, if you don't have a single Muslim MP in parliament?

I was a MP, and I just retired a year ago. There were three more MPs in the parliament. They retired recently. So it is very unfair to say that- But let's talk about the current situation.

There isn't. That's when laws are being passed.

Currently, if there is nobody, the election is around the corner. Tickets have been given. More tickets will be announced and more Muslims will be given tickets.

Many of India's Muslims will find it hard to believe the ruling party's assurances. Critics see the upcoming election as an inflection point for India's long cherished secular ideals. Yogutalma, BBC News, Delhi.