UP Muslim Man Tied To Tree, Hit, Forced To Say "Jai Shri Ram", 2 Arrested

Two men have been arrested in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr district after they allegedly tied a Muslim labourer to a tree on the suspicion of theft, beat him up, partially shaved his head and forced him to raise Jai Shri Ram slogans.

Shakeel, the father of the labourer Sahil, has alleged that his son was sent to jail after the incident. He also told the media that the police was allegedly asking him to strike a compromise with the accused and threatening him.

A video of the incident, shot by one of the three accused in the case, has gone viral and sparked a political storm.

Asaduddin Owaisi, Hyderabad MP and chief of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), shared the video and launched a sharp attack on Uttar Pradesh police.

"Look at the sympathy of police, instead of acting against the accused, they sent Sahil to jail. Where do we go with our pleas against injustice?" he said in a Hindi tweet.

Surendra Nath Tiwari, additional superintendent of police, said a video shot in Vair village shows three men thrashing Sahil, a resident of the same village, on the suspicion of theft.

"Taking cognizance of the video, and on basis of the complaint received from the family, an FIR has been registered against the accused in Kakod police station and two accused were arrested," he said.

The accused have been identified as Gajendra, Saurabh and Dhanni, a PTI report quoted police sources as saying.

Sahil's father Shakeel told the media that his son was on this way home for lunch when the accused caught him, tied him to a tree and beat him up. "No one is hearing our pleas. Police picked up our son and sent him to jail. We named those involved in our complaint. Now we are being asked to strike a compromise. We are being threatened that if we don't, they won't let us stay here. We want justice," said an inconsolable Shakeel, fighting back tears.

According to a report by news agency PTI, the complaint registered by Sahil's mother also alleged that the accused took away his mobile phone and Rs 1,500 in cash.