Workers of Bhartiya Janata Party allegedly beat up a Muslim man in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad, forced him to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’, and lick his own spit, The Hindu reported on Friday.
After a video of the incident went viral on social, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in a tweet, asked district officials to investigate the incident and take action.
The incident reportedly took place at a protest site held by BJP workers and supporters against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s alleged security lapse in Punjab earlier this week. According to The Indian Express, BJP’s Dhanbad MLA and MP were also present at the protest.
The man identified as 32-year-old Zeeshan Khan, as per English daily, was reportedly passing by the protest site and verbally abused party state chief Dipak Prakash, after which a group of BJP workers assaulted him.
The police said one person has been arrested in connection with the incident and more arrests will be made as the investigation proceeds.
Khan’s brother Rehan Khan registered an FIR complaint and said that his brother has been under treatment for a mental illness since 2012.
Condemning the incident, Dhanbad’s state executive committee member of the Congress, Shamsher Alam told The Telegraph that he helped Rehan Khan file an FIR after he learnt about the incident. “We can’t let such an act against a person of a minority community go unpunished. We will pursue the matter to its logical conclusion,” he said.
