Image showing a man being thrashed. (For representational purposes)
Credit: iStock
Lucknow: A Muslim youth was thrashed by members of a saffron outfit in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur town after he "tried to enter" a 'garba, dandiya' (dance events organised during the Navratri) event.
According to the police sources here, the Muslim youth, who was not identified, was caught by the guards and members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) while they were checking the Aadhaar cards of the visitors at the programme in Swaroop Nagar area in the city on Friday night.
Videos purportedly showing the youth being beaten by some people after asking him about his religion went viral on social media platforms on Saturday.
Police sources said that a case in this connection was lodged and efforts were on to identify the attackers.
The incident comes within days of the saffron outfits, including the VHP and Bjarang Dal, meeting the police officials in Kanpur and demanding that non-Hindus should not be allowed to organise 'garba' and 'dandiya' events on the occasion of Navratri.
VHP leader Gaurang Dixit said that a memorandum was also submitted to the district magistrate and police chief Kanpur demanding that entry into these events should be allowed only after checking Aadhaar cards. ''Only Hindus should be allowed at these events,'' he said.
Similar incidents of beating of Muslim youths had been reported from different parts of the country earlier also. In some cases, the events had to be cancelled.