Muslim youth slapped in India for not saying ‘Bharat Mata ki jai’
Incident took place during a protest organised by activists of Hindu organisation Bajrang Dal
File photo of Shiv Sena workers. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
A Muslim youth was slapped in the city of Hisar, India for not saying 'Bharat Mata ki jai' on Tuesday.
An unidentified person allegedly slapped the youth for not shouting 'Bharat Mata ki jai' during a protest against the attack on Amarnath pilgrims, Hindustan Times reported.
The incident took place during a protest organised by activists of the Hindu organisation, Bajrang Dal. Reports said the protest's venue had changed to one near a mosque and the Muslim youth was stopped and asked to chant the slogan while returning after offering prayers.
This lead to a verbal battle between the youth and other members of the protest and eventually an unidentified man slapped him.
Police reached the site to maintain the law and order; however no official complaint was registered.
Following the incident, chief of the Muslim Kalyan Committee in Hisar, Harphul Khan Bhatti said: “Are we guilty of attacking anyone? We all are brothers. It is my demand that the police must arrange proper security around the mosque and arrest the accused.”
SHO Lalit Kumar said "we have not received any complaint so far. We are investigating the matter. If we get a written complaint, the police will take action.”
However, the Hisar unit leader of Bajrang Dal, Kapil Vats, denied that anyone from the organisation had manhandled a person. “No one from Bajrang Dal manhandled anyone. We also came to know about this. We only protested against terrorism and left from there. We are not aware what happened after that,” he said.