At least eleven people allegedly forced a 32-year-old Dalit man to rub his nose on a temple platform for remarks he had made in reply to comments in one of his Facebook posts on controversial movie Kashmir Files.
Seven of the 11 accused were arrested on Wednesday, said Alwar police.
” had watched the trailer of the film and had uploaded a post, in which I said the movie has shown atrocities against Kashmiri Pandits and is being made tax-free. That is fine, but there are also atrocities against Dalits and other communities. Why are movies such as Jai Bhim not made tax free?” Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, 32, said to Indian Express.
Meghwal is a resident of Gokalpur village.
Meghwal said to newspaper that he started receiving threats and was being pressured to apologise after his social media post.
“Villagers and a former sarpanch started to mount pressure on me to apologise at the village temple. They assured me that I will not be roughed up. But they started heckling me and forced me to rub my nose at the platform of the temple against my wishes,” Meghwal said.
The FIR was lodged at Behror police station under sections of the IPC and relevant sections of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities Act).
Meghwal said that he is under immense pressure after the FIR and he is scared for his safety.
Anupam Kher starrer ‘Kashmir Files’ deals with the story of violence against Kashmiri pandits. Scholars and critics of Hindutva ideology has flagged the film for installing hatred towards Muslims.
The film has been widely endorsed by Hindu nationalist groups. Directed by Vivek Agnihotri, the movie was released on 11 March.
The movie has been given tax-free run in BJP run states of Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa and Tripura.
Meanwhile, Genocidal slogans and anti-Muslim chants were raised by Hindutva groups at Kashmir Files screenings across country.
