Hindu man assaulted for walking with two Muslim girls in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut

The miscreants also made the girls take off their hijab and forced them to reveal their identity and the names of their fathers

A Hindu youth was assaulted by some miscreants in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut town supposedly because he accompanied two female Muslim colleagues to a market on Monday.

According to police sources, the youth, who works in the same company where the two girls work, was held by the collar by some miscreants, who also admonished the girls for walking with a Hindu boy, and was dragged in the streets in full public view.

They also made the girls take off their hijab (a scarf used to cover the face) and forced them to reveal their identity and the names of their fathers.

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The matter came to light when a video purportedly showing the assault went viral on social media. The incident comes in the backdop of the raging nationwide controversy over the movie The Kerala Story, which is based on the theme of 'Love Jihad'.

''How can you (girls) befriend a Hindu?'' one of the accused was heard asking the girls in the video. The youth was heard saying that the girls were his colleagues and that he accompanied them to the market for some shopping. The assaulters were also heard repeatedly demanding that the youth reveal his name.

After the video went viral, the police took cognisance of the matter and lodged a case in this regard at the Kotwali police station in Meerut. ''We have arrested one of the assaulters after identifying him from the video.....a hunt has been launched to nab the other culprits,'' a senior Meerut police official said.