A group of six unidentified men have been accused of beating up three Muslim boys for refusing to say ‘Jai Shri Ram’ in Gujarat's Godhra, police said on Friday, 2 August, according to PTI.
However, SP of Panchmahals District Leena Patil told The Quint that the CCTV footage captured from the location suggest that the boys had been involved in “an altercation”.
Siddique Bhagat, the complainant, claimed that six unidentified men on two motorcycles stopped his 17-year-old son, Samir, and his friends – Salman Gheeteli and Sohail Bhagat – when the trio were returning home on a motorbike on Thursday night.
“The accused asked my son and his friends to chant `Jai Shri Ram.’ When the boys refused to, they started thrashing them. One of them hit Samir with a bicycle chain on the forehead, while another man hit Salman on the head with a blunt object.”Siddique Bhagat, Complainant
“Before leaving, the assailants threatened to kill them if they were seen again in the area,” stated the FIR registered at Godhra Town police station, PTI reported.
Samir and his friends were taken to a hospital by some local people with serious injuries, Police Inspector HC Rathva said.
Three Muslim boys were allegedly thrashed by six unidentified men for refusing to say “Jai Shri Ram” in Gujarat’s Godhra.
(Photo: The Quint)
‘CCTV Footage Tells a Different Story’
Leena Patil, SP of Panchmahals District, told The Quint, that the CCTV footage captured from the location tells a different story.
“Two Muslim boys were riding a bike and there were three boys riding behind them on a different bike. They were trying to overtake each other when an altercation broke out which led to a fight.”Leena Patil, SP, Panchmahals District
Patil told The Quint that while the CCTV footage shows otherwise, further investigation will look into the allegation of forcing the victim to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram.’
When asked why a statement about the misinformation was not issued at the earliest, Patil said, “We already issued statements and have arrested all the accused. One of them is a minor who will be arrested tomorrow. Godhra is a sensitive area, thus such news stories spread fast. We have given out the right information about the whole issue today afternoon. Yet such reports are being circulated.”
(With inputs from PTI.)
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