Kendrapara: A Bajrang Dal worker and his associates allegedly harassed a Muslim hawker, taunting and pressuring him to chant Jai Shri Ram in Odisha’s Kendrapara district.
A video surfaced on Friday, June 19, with the Hindutva worker, identified as Rahul Mandal, seen harassing a Muslim hawker on a bike, accusing him of being a Bangladeshi.
Surrounded by three or four people, the hawker initially refused to comply with their demands, calmly asking them to stop. “Say Jai Shri Ram, say it,” ordered one of the Bajrang Dal members.
The hawker eventually said it meekly, after prolonged pressure. However, the workers refused to let him go, taunting him and his religion. The clip showed a member on the side checking the hawker’s Aadhaar card to “authenticate” if he was an indian.
The group continued to corner the hawker, intimidating him, demanding that he chant “Jai Shri Ram.” He refused to let him leave, even after he said it once.
Hyderabad couple labelled Pakistani
In a similar incident, a couple at a housing society on the outskirts of Hyderabad was labelled Pakistani by the managing committee during a dispute over an unregistered tenant. In a video of the dispute, the resident is heard angrily pushing back after being called Pakistani, asserting that he is an Indian. He pointed out that his grandfather had served as a Subedar in the Indian Army.
The secretary is heard saying, “I am just asking if you are a Pakistani; why are you staying here?” The couple alleged that the secretary accused them of being in the country to plant bombs.
