Uttarakhand: 3 arrested after allegedly assaulting man who refused to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’

Three persons were arrested in Uttarakhand’s Pauri Garhwal district for allegedly assaulting a man after he refused to chant “Jai Shri Ram”, The Indian Express reported on Monday.

The police filed a first information report on Saturday based on a complaint by Rizwan Ahmad, a resident of Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

Ahmad alleged that he was attacked on Friday evening near Dungripanth.

In his complaint, Ahmad said that he had gone to a tea shop where three men were drunk.

“One of them, named Mukesh Bhatt, asked me to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’,” The Indian Express quoted him as saying in his complaint.

When he refused, Ahmad alleged, Bhatt and his two companions abused and assaulted him.

“They caught hold of my beard, pulled it violently, and shouted: ‘Cut this man’s beard.’ They also made a video of this assault,” Ahmad added, according to the newspaper. “I was forced to chant ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ and ‘Jai Shri Ram’.”

A video of the incident has been circulated widely on social media.

Ahmad said he managed to escape through the back of the shop.

He also alleged that the three men had threatened another resident of Saharanpur the same day, attempting to force him to chant the slogan.

Apart from Bhatt, the accused were identified as Naveen Bhandari and Manish Bisht.

The FIR was filed under sections of...

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