Muslim Man Allegedly Thrashed in Gurgaon for Wearing Skull Cap; Forced to Chant ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, ‘Jai Sri Ram’

Gurugram: A 25-year-old Muslim man was allegedly assaulted here by four unidentified youths for wearing traditional skull cap, an official said Sunday.

The victim was identified as Mohamad Barker Alam, a Bihar native, living here in Jakob Pura area of Gurgaon.

In a complaint to the police, Alam alleged that four unidentified youths accosted him in a Sadar Bazar lane and objected to his wearing the skull cap.

"The accused threatened me, saying wearing cap was not allowed in the area. They removed my cap and slapped me, while asking me to chant Bharat Mata ki Jai," Alam said in the FIR, lodged at the city police station.

"As I followed their instruction and chanted Bhrat Mata ki Jai, they asked me to chant Jai Sri Ram which I refused. At this, the youths picked up a baton from the roadside and began mercilessly beating me. They hit me at my legs and back," he added.

In the FIR, Alam said he was returning home after offering Namaj in a mosque at Sadar Bazar when the incident took place.

He said as he cried for help, other people from his community rushed to help him, when the assailants fled.

"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 medical examination of 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 crminal intimidation.

"We are also scanning the CCTV footage of the area to identify the accused. Effort are on to nab them," ACP added.

The incident comes four days after two men and a woman were thrashed by cow vigilantes over the suspicion of transporting beef in Madhya Pradesh’s Seoni town. The victims were also forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’.

The incident took place on May 22 when the accused intercepted an auto rickshaw after they suspected that the couple on board was carrying beef. After the vehicle pulled over, they began thrashing the couple and their driver and forced one of the victims to slap his wife with his slippers.

(With inputs from agencies)