Online Desk: A Muslim youth was assaulted, abused and forced to chant the Hindutva slogan ‘Jai Shri Ram’ by a group of people in Jharkhand’s capital city of Ranchi on Monday night.The victim, identified as ObaidullahHasnain from the Hindpidhi area of the city, was beaten up by 4-5 people with sticks till he fell unconscious.

“I was going on an errand at night. On the way around Hindi School, I was abused by a group of people. When I objected, they encircled me and forced me to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’. A scuffle broke out. Then, some people came out of nearby temples and thrashed me with sticks,” reports reaching here on Tuesday quoted Obaidullah as saying.

“I got a serious fracture in my hand. I escaped the attack somehow. Then, my family members came and took me to the Hindpuri police station and filed a complaint. So far, no action has been taken in the matter,” he said.

Although there were many people out there to beat him up, the victim named Vishnu, Golu, Karan and Hritik for the attack.The police have initiated action after receiving a complaint, DCP Prakash Sai said. “The culprits will be arrested and sent to jail. They have given some names. We are verifying them,” he said.

The DCP said the assault ensued a religious slur thrown at the victim. Obaidullah was sent to the hospital for proper treatment. Recently, the state has witnessed several incidents of lynching in different districts. Two weeks ago, Akhtar Ansari, 32, a resident of Katamkuli in Ranchi, was allegedly lynched by a mob over an accusation of goat stealing at Tatisilwai.

Jharkhand was the fourth state after West Bengal, Manipur and Rajasthan to pass a bill against mob lynching in December 2021.