After a number of attacks on Muslim for their identity and not chanting Hindu slogans, another such incident of hate crime came into notice from Kanpur.
A 16-year-old Muslim boy was allegedly kicked and punched by four men in a crowded Kanpur city market on Friday afternoon for wearing a skullcap and refusing to chant “Jai Shri Ram”.
S.K. Singh, station house officer at Barra police station, said a case had been registered against unidentified people for assault and causing enmity between groups.
“The criminals forcibly removed the boy’s skullcap and asked him to chant a slogan. When he refused, they beat him mercilessly. The boy has back injuries,” he told reporters.
The boy told reporters he was passing through Yadav Market in the Kidwai Nagar locality on his way home after Friday prayers when four strangers grabbed his arms and led him to a corner.
“They asked why I was wearing a skullcap. I raised the alarm hoping the shopkeepers would rescue me but realised they were terrified of the attackers. They didn’t even look at me,” he said.
“The attackers removed my cap and asked me to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’. When I refused, they lifted me by my arms and legs and threw me on the ground. They started kicking me — some of them knelt down and punched me — while repeatedly asking me to chant the slogan. They then left on two motorcycles.”
Circle officer Manoj Gupta said the police were trying to identify the attackers from CCTV footage and had got “some leads”.
After Tabrez Ansari’s lynching in Jharkhand, civil socities and Muslim groups are up in arms against such hate crimes and staging dharnas and doing protests at different places in India. Some protests have been reported from overseas including America as well.
