A man selling biryani was attacked by a group of men in Greater Noida near Delhi, apparently for his caste. In the video of the incident, which has been widely shared, his assailants can be heard asking how he dared to sell biryani despite belonging to a lower caste.
The incident took place in Rabupura, which is just 66 km from Delhi.
The video shows the man standing back to the wall in front of his little kiosk, punched and slapped as bystanders watch in fear. A man can be heard hurling abuses and casteist slurs and demanding that the biryani seller apologise.
The police said 43-year-old Lokesh was attacked on Friday and a case has been registered against three men under the law protecting Scheduled Castes and Tribes. All three men have been arrested.
"We saw the video yesterday and then investigation was initiated. The victim was identified and called to the police station for all the details," Ranvijay Singh, a senior police officer in Greater Noida, was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Actor Urmila Matondkar, who had briefly joined the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha elections held earlier this year, was among those who tweeted on the incident.
"Scary! We, as Indians, cannot let ourselves be untouched by such incidents... it is not our civilization/culture and this is completely against the idea of sabka saath sabka vikas," tweeted the actor in Hindi.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath condemned the discriminatory behaviour and warned that steps will be taken against those acting against the law. "There's no place for prejudice against any person on any grounds in Uttar Pradesh. There will be strict action against those who try to disturb law and order," Mr Adityanath's office.
School Bus Overturns In Greater Noida, Few Children Hurt: Police Kerala Kalamandalam Serves Chicken Biryani To Students For The First Time In 94 Years One Killed As Dispute Between Tenants Turns Deadly In Greater Noida Windows Computers Lead To 'Blue Screen Of Death' Due To CrowdStrike Error Massive Worldwide Microsoft Outage: Flights, Markets, Stock Exchange Down Microsoft 'Blue Screen Of Death' Outage: Full List Of Services Hit In India Study Abroad: Top 10 Management Universities In United Kingdom "Reason Identified, Updates Released": India On Massive Microsoft Outage UPSC Cracks Down, Says Puja Khedkar Faked Identity, Parents' Name, Address Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.