Muslim man assaulted, made to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ in Kanpur

Lucknow: A 45-year-old Muslim man was paraded around a street in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh and beaten on Wednesday while being forced to scream ‘Jai Shri Ram’ chants. He was eventually handed over to the cops.

Locals captured the footage of the incident, which shows the man’s little daughter clinging to him and pleading to the assailants to spare him. The video also shows the man getting struck while in the custody of the police.

The incident occurred 500 metres from an intersection where the right-wing Bajrang Dal held a gathering, claiming that Muslims in the neighbourhood were attempting to convert a Hindu girl. The attack occurred shortly after the meeting, according to reports.

On the basis of a complaint by the attacked guy, the Kanpur police have registered a rioting case against a local who operates a wedding band, his son and approximately ten unknown persons. The males named in the case have not been linked to the organisation, as per the authorities.

‘I was driving my e-rickshaw around 3 pm when the accused started abusing and assaulting me and threatening to kill me and my family. I got saved because of the police,’ the man, who is an e-rickshaw driver, said in his complaint. He has not spoken to the media so far.

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Kanpur police said that the man is a relative of a local Muslim family who is embroiled in a court battle with their Hindu neighbours. The two families filed charges against one other at the local police station in July. The Muslim side was the first to submit a police report for assault and criminal intimidation. The Hindu side subsequently filed a lawsuit, alleging ‘assault with the intent to outrage the modesty of a woman.’

Sources added that the Bajrang Dal became engaged in the case recently and has been accusing the Muslim family of forceful conversion. Raveena Tyagi, a senior police official in Kanpur said: ‘We have seen the video of a man being assaulted. Based on a complaint by the victim, we have registered an FIR and we are carrying out the legal process.’