By Team Clarion
MUMBAI — A shocking incident at Ideal College in Kalyan in Maharashtra’s Thane District has raised serious concern among Muslims after Hindu groups forced three Muslim students to apologise for offering namaz. The students were pushed into touching the feet of an idol while police officers stood by and watched.
A video of the Muslim boys offering namaz in an empty classroom went viral, after which members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal rushed to the college and created a ruckus. They accused the students of hurting Hindu sentiments and demanded strict action.
One of the Muslim students told reporters that they did not expect such a reaction. “We were only praying for a few minutes in an empty room. We did not want to hurt anyone. We did not break anything or disturb anyone,” he said.
However, instead of settling the matter quietly, the situation turned into a public humiliation. A second video surfaced showing the three Muslim boys being ordered by members of the Hindutva groups to do sit-ups and apologise in front of a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
The video also shows the accused threatening the boys. One member of the group can be heard shouting that they should be punished. They forced the students to touch the idol’s feet. As the terrified boys did so, several men shouted “Jai Shri Ram”.
A local Muslim resident who witnessed the scene said, “They treated the children like criminals. The police were standing there and did nothing. The boys were crying. This is not law; this is bullying.”
This story was originally published in clarionindia.net. Read the full story here.
