Hyderabad: A Muslim man was assaulted and subjected to forceful parading on the roads by a Hindu mob for allegedly urinating near a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj while under the influence of alcohol last night in the constituency of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao.
The incident took place in Gajwel town of Siddipet district.
According to witnesses, locals spotted the man allegedly urinating near the statue at approximately 8:30 pm. They berated him, and the man apologized for his mistake. However, the incident took a disturbing turn when a group of Hindus gathered at the spot, expressing their anger over a Muslim urinating near a place of Hindu reverence.
Videos captured from the scene depict a mob surrounding the man, who appeared to be intoxicated while shouting religious slogans such as "Jai Shri Ram," "Bharat Mata ki Jai," and "Chhatrapati Shivaji ki jai."
The mob forcefully held the man and fetched a bucket of water, making him pour it on the spot where he had allegedly urinated. He was also paraded on the road, with his clothes torn in some places, amidst the loud sloganeering by the mob.
While a policeman tried to intervene and rescue the man from the violent mob, he was overpowered by a group of men who forcibly brought the man towards a road divider and shoved his face to the ground. Reports suggest that the man was even asked to lick the area where he had urinated, further exacerbating the brutality of the incident.
Following the incident, Muslims from the nearby Sangapur locality gathered at the spot and staged a protest, expressing their condemnation of the assault. In response, they called for a bandh, a shutdown, in the area. The situation, however, has now calmed down, and peace has been restored in the region.