LUCKHNOW: Hindutva goons assaulted the imam of a mosque and forced him to chant Hindu religious slogan in the Ghaziabad city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
A video of attack on the Muslim man by the members of Hindutva organizations is making rounds on the internet.
The victim identified as Sadaqat, an Imam in the Asjad area, told the media that the attackers were forcing him to raise slogans and chant Hindu slogan ‘Jai Shree Ram’.
Narrating his plight and sharing the incident, Sadaqat said, “I was returning after offering the namaaz in the evening at around 5:30 pm. I went for a stroll with a boy named Kaif. Right ahead of the cow shelter (in the vicinity), two individuals on a motorcycle called me out and asked me to stop. They teased me about my religious identity, but I did not stop because I assumed that they were teasing me.”
“I prepared to return but they parked the scooter in front of me, and they forced me to chant – Jai Shree Ram. They coerced me to raise slogans which would violate my religious faith and beliefs. I repulsed and asked them to let me go but they didn’t. They hit me then and it hurt me internally. They threatened to take my life too. I got scared. I ran to call the emergency number and I did dial 112 but it was busy,” the victim said.
He further shared that he left the area after his acquaintance reached the spot and they left to report the incident to the police. “I called one of my acquaintances and told him that I had been stopped by these two people. He came with a few more people and only then did I leave. We went to file a complaint thereafter,” Sadaqat said.
An FIR has been lodged at Modinagar Police Station wherein the accused are charged with sections providing for assault, hurt and hurting religious sentiments.
