BENGALURU:
Two motorcycle-borne men attacked three men travelling in a car for allegedly raising “Jai Shri Ram” slogans in Bengaluru on Wednesday afternoon.
An FIR was lodged in the Vidyaranyapura police station after a video of the incident went viral on social media and three accused were arrested. Another accused, who was present at the scene, managed to escape.
Two of the accused were identified as Farman and Sameer, residents of MS Palya.
The incident occurred in the Chikkabettahalli locality as three men were travelling in a car, displaying a flag and reciting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ chants in celebration of Ram Navami. They were stopped by two motorbike riders, who voiced objections to their chanting.
The accused asked the three men to chant “Allah Hu Akbar” instead of “Jai Shri Ram”. The accused kept saying, “No Jai Shri Ram, only Allah.” They also tried to snatch the flags the three men were carrying.
The spat soon turned into an altercation and the accused assaulted the three men. Farman rushed to fetch a stick and thrashed the trio.
One of the three men was hit on his head with a stick, while another suffered an injury to his nose during the attack, police said.
“The three youths were holding a flag and chanting Jai Shri Ram while travelling in the car. During that time, two youths blocked the car and questioned them for shouting these slogans, also demanding them to say Allah Hu Akbar. As these people got out of the car, those on the bike ran away to bring more youths to assault them. In that altercation, one person injured his nose,” said BM Laxmi Prasad, DCP Northeast, Bengaluru City.
Police said a case has been registered against the accused under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 295 (punishment for the deliberate and malicious act), 298 (intentionally hurting someone’s religious feelings), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapon), 326, 506 (criminal intimidation), and rioting at Vidhyaranyapura Police Station.
