Hyderabad: A Muslim man was allegedly assaulted and paraded naked by villagers of Morgi village on Telangana-Karnataka border and was subsequently arrested after posting a reel insulting a saffron flag with the Hindu symbol ‘Om’ inscribed on it.
According to media reports, 4 others were also arrested and were sent to remand by the police for allegedly helping him in the act.
“A counter case was lodged against the villagers who assaulted the youth and we are in search of those people,” Sangareddy Superintendent of Police (SP) Chennuri Rupesh told ThePrint.
“A meeting of elders from both faiths was convened to restore calm. There is no tension now,” he said, according to the report.
Video recorded on Ram temple event day: Police
The police also stated that the accused recorded the video on the day of the consecration of the Ram idol at the newly constructed temple in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.
“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 video.
The 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 countercase 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 issued a warning on social media, stating that serious measures would be taken against those who fuel tensions.
He emphasized the importance of respecting each other’s religious beliefs for the preservation of communal harmony and declared that individuals inciting religious animosity “would not be spared.”
