NEW DELHI- In a shocking incident that ought to torment anyone with anounce of humanity, two blind beggars were forced to chant *Jai Shri Ram* and *Jai Maa Tara *by a group of men in West Bengal, DNA has reported.
According to a report in *The Indian Express*, the incident occurred inChitadanga area of Andal in West Bengal’s West Burdwan district. A video ofthe incident had gone viral and it’s not immediately clear which group isresponsible for this sickening incident.
Abul Bashar 67 told The Indian Express: “My only fault was that I am aMuslim and I entered a Hindu-dominated area.” Abul Bashar, and his wifeBedana Bibi 61 said they were assaulted on Tuesday. This is the day aftercommunal clashes broke out in Raniganj and Asansol in the same district.
Andal is 32 km from Asansol and 18 km from Raniganj. Bashar told IE that hedidn’t know about the clashes when he had gone out to beg.
Speaking about the incident, he said: “We go to various places in Birbhumand Burdwan. In Andal, some people came and snatched my cap. They said theywill kill us because we are Muslims and had entered a Hindu-dominated area.Then they started beating me and my wife. My wife begged for my life andpleaded that we will never come to this area if they let us go. But theydid not listen.”
He added: “I told them that we are blind and we had gone there to beg andnot to cause any trouble. Rather than let us go, they asked us to chant‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Jai Maa Tara’. I told them that Bhagwan and Allah arethe same and people have the right to freedom of religion. I asked them whythey were forcing us to chant Jai Shri Ram. As we feared for our lives, Iagreed to do what they wanted.”
In the video, voices are heard asking Bashar to chant and is seen holding asaffron flag with *Om *written on it. Police officials told Indian Expressthey were unaware about the incident. Office-in-charge of Andal policehaven’t received a complaint. Bedana Bibi said she was too scared to go tothe police and returned home.
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