Muslim man assaulted for ‘giving chocolate’ to Hindu girl, six booked

According to the police, the incident was reported on Thursday in Bantwal taluk under the Vitla police station limits. The victim has been identified as Mohammed Shakir (19), a resident of Veerakamba village in Vitla taluk, who is pursuing his studies at a private college in Mangaluru, police added.

Dakshina Kannada police have booked six men for allegedly assaulting a Muslim college student for offering chocolate to a Hindu girl on a bus in the district, officials said on Sunday.

Dakshina Kannada police have booked six men for allegedly assaulting a Muslim college student (Agencies/Representative use)

The incident comes close on the heels of a moral policing incident in Kukke Subramanya, where miscreants assaulted a youth for roaming with a Hindu girl on January 5.

According to the police, the incident was reported on Thursday in Bantwal taluk under the Vitla police station limits. The victim has been identified as Mohammed Shakir (19), a resident of Veerakamba village in Vitla taluk, who is pursuing his studies at a private college in Mangaluru, police added.

Shakir had boarded a KSRTC bus to go home after finishing college on Thursday. During the journey, he offered chocolate to the student sitting next to him on the bus. When the bus reached Kelinja village, the accused barged into the bus and assaulted him, the police said.

“The police received a complaint from the victim and registered a case against Chandra Shekar, Prajwal, Rohit and three others under sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (riot), 149 ( guilty of offence through unlawful assembly) and 323 (hurting) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC),” Dakshina Kannada district superintendent of police (SP) Rishikesh Bhagavan Sonavane said.

The victim, Shakir, was later admitted to Bantwal taluk hospital on Friday. He told the police that the accused assaulted him for speaking with a fellow student. “The police have registered a case and are investigating the incident. The police have identified the accused and will arrest them soon,” Sonavane added.

The coastal district of Dakshina Kannada is a communally sensitive region. Recently, pro-Hindu organisations have alleged that ‘love jihad’ cases are on the rise. However, the Muslim community has denied the allegations and claimed that a man and a woman could take their own decisions.

The Bajrang Dal and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), on Friday, put up a banner at Kavoor in Mangaluru, instructing those who do not agree to worship idols to not do business at the Kavoor temple fair.

The Democratic youth federation of India (DYFI) has filed a complaint with the Mangaluru police commissioner. Similar boards instructing non-Hindus not to open shops at temple fairs were put up at many temples in the Dakshina Kannada district.