An elderly Muslim man was allegedly assaulted by a group of people and forced to chant religious slogans for offering namaz on vacant land in front of a temple in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand, police said.
A video of the incident is reportedly doing the rounds on social media, in which the accused are seen thrashing the man with sticks and hurling abuses at him. The victim was identified as Shahid, a resident of the Resham Bari area. He was caught by the violent group while offering Ramzan namaz in front of the Atriya Temple in Jagatpura, the police said.
Members of the Muslim community accompanied Shahid to the local police station and filed a complaint after learning what had happened, news agency PTI said in a report. Shahid said he had been working near the temple for several days and claimed that the land where he offered namaz is quite far from the temple.
The complainants claimed that one of the accused was a murder convict who is currently out on parole.
Temple manager Arvind Sharma said activities associated with any other religion will not be tolerated on the temple land, even if a case is filed against him.
The police reached the spot and appealed to both communities to maintain peace.
Shahid was sent for a medical examination, and legal action will be taken based on the complaint, the police said.
Municipal Councillor Parvez Qureshi termed the incident unacceptable.
"This matter is extremely serious. Assaulting a person is unacceptable. If anyone had any objection, the administration should have been informed. We demand an impartial investigation and strict action against the culprits to avoid a repeat of such incidents in the future," PTI quoted him as saying.