Woman Riding Pillion Forced To Take Off Hijab In Madhya Pradesh

A woman riding pillion on a scooter was forced to remove her hijab by some people in Bhopal on Saturday, which led to widespread criticism on social media. According to reports, the woman was riding pillion with a man when some people stopped them on a narrow street in Bhopal's Islam Nagar and asked her to remove the hijab that she was wearing.

Visuals show the people taking off her hijab while she protested, visibly crying. A man is also heard in the video telling the woman that she was a "disgrace" to the community.

The police said the people who had gathered there suspected the woman was with a Hindu man, so they forced the scooter to stop.

No police case has been filed. Two of the men who were seen stopping the scooter were detained and let off after a warning not to repeat the act.

"A man and the woman came to Islam Nagar in the afternoon. Some people stopped them and asked her to take off her hijab and show her face. It is suspected that the people believed the man was Hindu and the girl Muslim," police officer RS Verma told news agency PTI.

"No case has been registered but preventive action has been taken against the two men seen in the video, who were let off with a warning to not repeat such an act," Mr Verma said.

Last month, two people were arrested in Bengaluru in a case of moral policing after a video showed them assaulting a bank employee for having a Muslim woman colleague ride pillion on his motorcycle.