Kanpur: VHP members beat Muslim man for ‘trying to attend’ Navratri celebration

A Muslim youth was allegedly assaulted by Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal members during a Navratri event in Swaroop Nagar.

A Muslim youth was allegedly beaten up by members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal here at a Navratri-related event, police said on Saturday.

Representative Image: People wearing traditional attire perform Garba, a traditional dance of Gujarat state, on the second night of Navratri, or nine night festival, in Ahmedabad. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

The incident happened on Friday at Lajpat Bhavan in Swaroop Nagar when private guards and volunteer staff were checking the visitors' identities to prevent any non-Hindus from entering the venue, they said.

Purported videos of the incident shared on social media showed a man being beaten up while being questioned about his religion.

Motijheel police outpost in-charge, Ravi Kumar, has lodged an FIR against unknown men for assaulting unidentified youngsters at the event, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Dinesh Tirpathi said on Saturday.

Instructions have been issued to identify those were beaten up and call them to record their statements, the DCP said.

In a statement, Yuvraj Dwivedi, VHP's district secretary (Kanpur North), claimed to have carried out checks at 'garba' and 'dandia' venues during the ongoing Navratri festival in the city to prevent people from other religions from participating in the celebrations.

Despite being warned, several youngsters were spotted at the venue and they were forcibly stopped from getting entry into the event, he added.