In a shocking incident, a Muslim man was allegedly beaten up by four unidentified assailants in Gurugram for wearing a traditional skull cap. The incident reportedly happened on Sunday, May 26.
The 25-year-old victim, identified as Mohamad Barker Alam, was assaulted in Sadar Bazar lane when he was wearing the skull cap. Alam, who is a native of Bihar, is living in Jakob Pura area of Gurugram.
In a complaint to the police, Alam alleged that the youths threatened him, saying, "Wearing cap was not allowed in the area." They removed his cap and slapped him while forcing him to chant Bharat Mata ki Jai. Alam mentioned in the FIR which was lodged at the city police station.
"As I followed their instruction and chanted Bharat Mata ki Jai, they asked me to chant Jai Shri Ram, which I refused. At this, the youths picked up a baton from the roadside and began mercilessly beating me. They hit me on my legs and back," he added, as quoted by news agency PTI.
In the FIR, Alam said that the incident happened when he was returning home after offering Namaz in a mosque at Sadar Bazar. He said as he cried for help, other people from his community rushed to help him. This forced the assailants to flee.
"We have received a complaint about the incident and registered an FIR under sections 153, 147, 149, 323 and 506 in the city police station. We have also conducted a medical examination of the victim," said Gurgaon City ACP Rajiv Kumar.
While section 153 of the IPC pertains to causing enmity between people of different religions, sections 147 and 149 define offences of riots and unlawful assembly, respectively. Sections 323 and 506 deals with offences of causing hurt and criminal intimidation.
The ACP said that the CCTV footage of the area is being scanned to identify the accused. Also, efforts are on to nab them.
BJP's Gautam Gambhir condemned the attack on a man in Gurgaon by a gang that knocked off his skull cap and demanded that he chant "Jai Shri Ram". Taking to Twitter, Gambhir said, "In Gurugram Muslim man told to remove skullcap, chant Jai Shri Ram'. It is deplorable. Exemplary action needed by Gurugram authorities. We are a secular nation where @Javedakhtarjadu writes "ओ पालन हारे, निर्गुण और न्यारे" & @RakeyshOmMehra gave us d song "अर्ज़ियाँ" in Delhi 6."
(With inputs from PTI)
