In yet another case of religion-based attacks, a Muslim man from Kanpur was forced to cant 'Jai Shri Ram' by a mob who assaulted him and paraded him through a street on Wednesday.
In a viral video, the minor daughter of the man, Afsar, could be seen begging the attackers to spare her father's life. The video of the crime was widely circulated on social media.
The district police eventually intervened to save him, according to The New Indian Express.
The attack happened in Barra locality - just half a kilometre from a site where a Bajrang Dal meeting was taking place, reported the publication and the attackers had tried to justify their violence by alleging that 'Muslims were trying to convert a Hindu girl in their locality'.
The crime reportedly took place right after the Bajrang Dal meet. The right-wing group had claimed that Afsar was related to a 'Muslim family that was trying to convert a Hindu'.
Following the victim's complaint, a case of rioting was filed by Kanpur police against a local, running a marriage band, his son and about 10 others. Police refused to reveal if the men accused were a part of the Bajrang Dal.
The victim, an e-rickshaw driver, and his family are enmeshed in a legal dispute with their neighbours who are Hindus. Both parties have filed cases against each other, police said.
“The attackers were threatening to kill me and my family. I was saved by the police," Afsar said in his complaint, according to the publication.
After the attack on Afsar took place, the Muslim family filed an FIR of assault and criminal intimidation and the Hindu side filed a case alleging "assault with the intent to outrage the modesty of a woman".
Kanpur South DCP, Raveena Tyagi, has said police have taken cognisance of the video of Afsar being attacked.
“Based on a complaint by the victim, we have filed an FIR and we have already initiated the legal process in the matter", the DCP said.