Two people in Rajasthan’s district of Sikar allegedly assaulted a Muslim autorickshaw driver when he refused to chant “Jai Shri Ram” and “Modi Zindabad.”
According to an Indian Express report, the two men were arrested after an FIR was lodged by the victim – 52-year-old Gapphar Ahmad Kacchawa.
Kacchawa was left with a swollen eye, broken teeth and a few bruises on his face. He also said that the assailants stole his wristwatch and Rs 700.
Speaking to The Indian Express, the victim’s nephew Shahid said “At around 4 am on 7 August, my uncle was returning after dropping off passengers to a nearby village when two men who were in a car stopped him and asked for tobacco. However, they declined to take the tobacco that my uncle offered and asked him to say ‘Modi zindabad’.”
In the FIR that was registered, Kacchawa said that the two assaulted him when he refused to comply with their demands.
“One of the men asked me to chant the slogan ‘Modi zindabad’ and I refused… Then he slapped me hard. I took my taxi and tried to flee towards Sikar. But they followed me on their car and stopped my vehicle near Jagmalpura. They forced me to get out of the vehicle and badly beat me up. The men abused me and forced me to chant ‘Modi zindabad’ and ‘Jai Shri Ram’,” he said in his complaint to the police.
“Following the FIR, we arrested two people yesterday – Shambhudayal Jat, 35, and Rajendra Jat, 30. Preliminary investigation suggests that these two men had parked their vehicle and were consuming alcohol when they stopped Kacchawa, misbehaved and assaulted him.”Pushpendra Singh, Station house officer, Sadar police station, Sikar to The Indian Express
After the assault, the two men also said they will only rest after sending him to Pakistan, Kacchawa said in his FIR.
The FIR has been registered under multiple sections like Section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 382 (theft after preparation made for causing death, hurt or restraint in order to the committing of the theft), among others.
The victim’s nephew said that Kacchawa is currently admitted in a government hospital in Sikar.
(With inputs from The Indian Express)
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