Muslim boy thrashed in Kanpur for not chanting 'Jai Shri Ram'

A young Muslim boy was allegedly thrashed by unidentified men here for denying to chant "Jai Shri Ram", police said here on Saturday.

According to police, the incident occurred on Friday when Mohammad Taj, resident of Barra, was returning home after offering 'namaz' at a mosque in Kidwai Nagar.

"When I was coming back after offering the prayer, three to four people asked me to get down from my car. They started hurling abuses on me after seeing the skull cap on my head," he told ANI.

"They called me "mulla" (Muslim man) and asked me to chant 'Jai Shri Ram.' They thrashed me and also took away my cell phone as I was about to call my family and the police," Taj told ANI.

Circle Officer (CO) Manoj Kumar Gupta said that three to four unidentified motorcyclists stopped Taj for overtaking them and objected to him wearing the skull cap.

"When the people interrupted, the attackers fled from the spot. We will look into the CCTV footage and take strict action against the accused," he said.

A medical examination of the victim has been done and an FIR has been registered under the relevant sections of Indian Penal Code including Section 153A (causing enmity between people of different religions).