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They Forced Me To Say “Jai Shri Ram”: Muslim Journo

Munne Bharti, a program coordinator with NDTV, has accused Bajrang Dal members of forcing him to chant Jai Shri Ram.

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A Bihar man has accused members of the Bajrang Dal of threatening him with violence if he did not chant “Jai Shri Ram”.

Munne Bharti, a program coordinator with NDTV, told BBC that he was travelling with his family – his aged parents, wife, and two children – from Karneji village in Bihar’s Vaishali district to Raheemabad village in Samastipur on 28 June when he was accosted by a group of men on Muzaffarpur NH 28.

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Bharti told BBC Hindi that the family was stuck in a traffic jam near Margan Chowk on National Highway 28 when around four to five men approached the car. The men were dressed in saffron and they were carrying sticks, he said. They said they would burn down the car if we did not chant "Jai Shri Ram," Bharti alleged, adding that the men let the car pass after all members of his family chanted the slogan.

In a tweet to Bihar CM Nitish Kumar about the incident, Bharti alleged that the men were members of the Bajrang Dal.

The Indian Express reported on 3 July that Bharti was yet to file a police complaint. “I had no knowledge of it till I got a call from the police headquarters after instructions from the CM House to look into the allegations,” the daily quoted Muzaffarpur SSP Vivek Kumar as saying.

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