A probe has been launched to look into the incident and the police are scrutinizing CCTV footage to determine the true motive behind the attack.
Representational image (iStock)
A man has alleged he was assaulted by unknown miscreants for chanting religious slogan of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ at a local bar in Gangavathi town in Karnataka late at night on Tuesday, 23 April, the day of Hanuman Jayanthi.
The victim, Kumar Rathod, a resident of Gangavathi, claimed that the assault was religiously motivated. However, the police have dismissed his claims saying that there was no evidence to establish that Rathod was thrashed for raising the religious slogans.
According to reports, Rathod was enjoying his drink at the bar in Sri Ram Nagar when he raised ‘Jai Shree Ram’ slogans. A person, allegedly from another religious community, objected to the religious chant, leading to a heated exchange of words.
Subsequently, a group of 20 to 25 individuals gathered outside the bar and assaulted Rathod as soon as he stepped out of the bar. Rathod suffered injuries to his head and face in the altercation and has been admitted to the taluka hospital for treatment.
Based on the complaint, the police have registered an FIR against the unknown miscreants at Gangavathi Police Station.
A probe has been launched to look into the incident and the police are scrutinizing CCTV footage to determine the true motive behind the attack.
No arrests have been made so far.
“We have registered an FIR after a complaint was filed against unknown miscreants. The incident reportedly occurred late at night at a bar,” Gangavathi DySP Siddalingappa Gowda told South First.
“We are looking at the CCTV footage as well and probing in all the possible angles. The victim is still in an intoxicated state,” added the Gangavathi DySP.
Contrary to Rathod’s assertion that the assault was motivated by his religious chant, SP Yashodha Vantagodi cast doubt on the claim.
“There is no evidence to prove that he was trashed for sloganeering ‘Jai Shree Ram’. We are verifying the CCTV footage,” SP Yashodha told reporters on Wednesday.
“We are not denying the victim’s statement. We have also verified the CCTV footage as well and probed in all the possible angles. We will be able to ascertain the motive behind this incident only after the investigation,” added the Koppal SP.
(Edited by Shauqueen Mizaj)
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