A Muslim boy in Bhojpur, Uttar Pradesh, was thrashed by Hindu youths on Friday for refusing to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’, a prayer turned warcry by India’s Hindu nationalist groups. Hindu groups pierced a nail in the body of Zeeshan, a minor and broke his bike.
According to Zeeshan’s video testimony, accessed by Maktoob, he was returning from his aunt’s house in Tohri when he was stopped and trashed by the group.
“They stopped and tore my clothes. They broke my bike and forced me to chant Jai Shree Ram, when I refused, they started beating me. They had a gun, hit me with an iron nail in his hand and brutally hit me in the back. When the blood started flowing excessively, they ran away saying, let him die now,” Zeeshan describes in his video.
He also alleges that police asked him to retract the ‘Jai Shree Ram’ part from his complaint. “But they were forcing me to chant Jai Shree Ram repeatedly. I refused to say anything”.
Several incidents of Hindu extremist groups forcing minorities to chant, Jai Shree Ram have reported in the recent past. The Hindu prayer turned war cry is forced to pledge allegiance to Hindutva ideology.
Ghaziabad Police has arrested two people so far, but says there is no evidence about the sloganeering.
“On the morning of 04.06.21, two youths were assaulted by some local people in the village Datedi-Nahali. On the complaint of the victim, a case was registered against unknown persons at Bhojpur police station,” says police.
