Ranchi: A Muslim man was allegedly thrashed, forced to lick his own spit and chant ‘Jai Shriram’ by BJP workers at Dhanbad. The man allegedly abused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party’s Jharkhand president on Friday. Chief Minister Hemant Soren has asked officials to investigate the matter and take stern action against the guilty.
The incident took place during a protest by BJP near the Gandhi statue in Dhanbad against the security lapse during Modi’s Punjab visit. The man, reportedly a Muslim, was a passerby and had allegedly abused the prime minister and BJP Jharkhand president Deepak Prakash.
A purported video of the incident and the man seeking pardon with his palms firmly together was shared on Twitter.
While the police did not say anything about the identity of the man, the tweet identified him as a Muslim.
Soren retweeted the link to the video and sought strict action against the culprits.
“Please investigate the matter and take strict action against the culprits. There is no place for enmity in this state where people live peacefully,” he said.
Dhanbad superintendent of police (City), R Ramkumar told PTI, “Strict action will be taken against the guilty.”
Neither the victim nor BJP leaders have lodged any complaint with the police about the incident till evening. BJP said it is probing the incident and if anyone is found guilty action will be taken against the person.
Jharkhand BJP spokesperson, Kunal Sarangi said “This kind of kangaroo justice is not acceptable. It is not about any religion or political outfit. It applies to all citizens of India.”
He said, “I surely don’t approve of what the man had to say about our state president. But that could have been reported to the local police to allow the law to take its course instead of beating him and making him lick his own spit.”
Dhanbad MP P N Singh, MLA Raj Sinha, district BJP president Chandrashekhar Singh and other senior leaders of the party were present at the two-hour-long dharna. Chandrashekhar Singh claimed that the man was handed over to the police to save him from the ire of the party workers present at the spot.
Jharkhand Assembly had on December 22 passed the Prevention of Mob Violence and Mob Lynching Bill, 2021, which aims at providing “effective protection” of constitutional rights of people and the prevention of mob violence in the state, notorious for vigilant justice.
In November 2021 Ranchi police has arrested three persons for allegedly forcing Kashmiri traders in Doranda area to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Pakistan Murdabad’ in the capital city.
