‘Madarsa students beaten up, forced to chant Jai Shri Ram’

A group of madarsa students playing cricket in the Government Inter College (GIC), Unnao, ground were allegedly beaten up and forced to chant Jai Shri Ram on Thursday, according to an FIR registered in the case.

“They were allegedly forced to chant Jai Shri Ram and beaten up with cricket bats and their clothes were torn,” the FIR said. Three students were injured in the fracas.

Nisar Ahmad Misbahi, principal of Darul Uloom Faiz-e-Aam madarsa, said his students Abdul Waris, Mohd Muqaddas, Mohd Ali and Haroon had gone to GIC ground in Sadar area to play cricket. Misbahi alleged that four people, identified as Aditya Shukla, Kranti, Kamal and one unidentified person, arrived and began mocking the students.

“They snatched their bats and began forcing them to chant Jai Shri Ram. They were beaten up with the cricket bats and dragged through the ground. Stones were thrown at the students who were trying to run away. Their bicycles were also damaged and their clothes torn,” he alleged.

“The students of seminary, situated near the Jama Masjid, were playing cricket in GIC ground. There was a brawl and a case has been registered on the basis of the complaint filed by them. Three students were injured and two of the accused were taken into police custody,” said circle officer, Sadar, Umesh Tyagi.

The police said the accused were identified with the help of their social media accounts on which they had shared certain pictures. They have been named in the FIR and efforts were being made for their arrest.

SP Unnao MP Verma said the police were looking into the allegations of students being forced to chant Jai Shri Ram. He confirmed that two accused had been taken into custody.

Several Muslims protested against the incident after Friday prayers outside Jama Masjid in Unnao and Kanpur’s shahr qazi Alam Raza Noori joined them.

Also, Hindu Yuva Vahani (HYV) and Bajrang Dal activists gathered near the tempo stand in Unnao and protested against the FIR and arrests. Meanwhile, district in charge of HYV Manish Chandel has demanded an FIR against the madarsa principal for “trying to communalise the situation through his utterances.”

No religious slogans were raised: ADG (Law & Order)

The state police said there was a heated exchange of words and a minor scuffle between two groups of children during a cricket match in Unnao on July 11. The children belonging to a particular community were not forced to raise religious slogan, they said.

In a hurriedly called press conference late on Friday night, ADG (Law and Order) PV Ramashastri said the police took prompt action in the matter, restored normalcy and registered an FIR under relevant IPC sections.

In a police investigation it was confirmed that children clashed during the cricket match but no religious slogans were raised, he said.

“Earlier, too, attempts were made to vitiate communal harmony in Kanpur, Aligarh, Agra and other districts by distorting facts and spreading rumours. With prompt action, the local police countered the design of anti-social elements and arrested them,” the ADG said.

In Unnao, too, an attempt was made to disturb communal harmony and police foiled the design with assistance of locals, he said. The SPs of all districts have been directed to be on alert and take action against anti-social elements without discrimination, the ADG said and added that strict action will be taken against rumour-mongers.