Hyderabad: Police in Telangana have arrested five, including a Muslim man who was allegedly assaulted and paraded naked by a group of villagers for posting a reel of himself insulting a saffron flag with the revered Hindu symbol ‘Om’ inscribed on it.
“Tumhari aukaat humare pairon ki dhool (your status is the dust on our feet). We are Muslim, don’t forget it…,” a voice in the background can be heard saying in the viral reel, which appears to have enraged the local Hindu community.
“Hum baap hain tumhare, hum se dara karo (I am your father, fear me),” can be heard in the background.
The reel, along with a video of the man seen in it being assaulted and paraded naked has since gone viral. The alleged assault, according to the police, took place under the limits of Nagalgidda police station in Morgi village, along the Telangana-Karnataka border.
Sangareddy Superintendent of Police (SP) Chennuri Rupesh told ThePrint that the reel in question was recorded on 22 January — the day of the consecration of an idol of the Hindu deity Ram at the newly constructed temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. “We have arrested all the five offenders, who have been sent to remand. A counter case was lodged against the villagers who assaulted the youth and we are in search of those people,” said Chennuri.
“A meeting of elders from both faiths was convened to restore calm. There is no tension now,” he added.
Based on a complaint by villagers, police had booked five men including the Muslim man seen in the reel under IPC Sections 153A (promoting enmity between groups), 253A (offending religious beliefs) and 505 (2) (promoting hatred or ill-will).
The counter case lodged against those who allegedly assaulted the man was registered under IPC Sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 505 (2) (statements conducing public mischief) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
SP Chennuri in a post on X warned the public that strict action would be taken against anyone found stoking tension. “Communal harmony thrives only when each other’s religion is respected. We would not spare anyone if resorting to such incitements,” he wrote.
‘Leniency encourages Muslim fanaticism’
The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) has alleged that “lenience” shown by successive state governments — Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and the Congress — “encourages the growth of Muslim fanaticism in Telangana”.
“The heinous act is an example of the rapid radicalisation of Muslim youth here. Madrasas are becoming centres of blind Hindu hate, and anti-national teachings. These maniacs could be the products of such learnings. The state should bring madrasas under constant monitoring,” Ravinuthala Shashidhar, joint secretary of the VHP in Telangana, told ThePrint.
He added that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) made arrests in the state in connection with the PFI (Popular Front of India) and other cases since the “state police, though thoroughly competent, was constrained by the previous regime” — a reference to former chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao.
The BJP, meanwhile, termed the Muslim man’s act “an utterly despicable deed, especially on the most auspicious occasion of the consecration”.
“It was posted on social media as a heroic act which provoked villagers, who reacted in the spur of the moment. A case has been lodged against them too and the law will take its course. But the point to ponder over is that the sense of impunity on display, and heinous acts some elements resort to every time there is an occasion of Hindu religious fervour,” said Telangana BJP spokesperson Kishore Poreddy.
“Why are Hindus being denied a peaceful celebration, when we don’t see such disturbances on occasions important for other religions,” he added.
Both the VHP and BJP are demanding that the Revanth Reddy-led Congress government allow the state police “to function even-handedly and act strictly and swiftly to curb any such anti-social elements”.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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