Bengaluru auto driver attacked; police file FIR but dismiss 'Jai Shri Ram' angle

Bengaluru: An auto driver has claimed that six to eight men assaulted him in northeastern Bengaluru last weekend for refusing to say 'Jai Shri Ram'. 

Police, however, dismissed the victim's claim that he was targeted for not chanting the slogan, which has become a rallying cry for the Hindu right-wing. 

The incident occurred in RK Hegde Nagar around 6.30 pm on June 22. 

According to the 28-year-old victim, Waseem Ahmed, he and his friends had stopped by a vacant plot to relieve themselves. Six to eight men, all drunk, walked up and asked them to say 'Jai Shri Ram'. 

A video circulated on social media shows Waseem saying he was forced to chant the slogan but he stood his ground. The group then attacked him, while his friend managed to flee.

Ahmed said he later went to the hospital, which sent a medico-legal case (MLC) to the jurisdictional Sampigehalli police station. 

However, police findings differ on some details of the incident. 

Sajeeth V J, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northeast), noted that the victim's complaint did not mention anything about the slogan. Nor did three witnesses, including a watchman posted nearby, report that the attackers had forced the victim to chant 'Jai Shri Ram'. 

"We are still ascertaining the details but preliminarily findings do not corroborate the victim's claims in the video. We have also taken his video statement," the police officer told DH. 

According to the DCP, all people involved in the incident are local residents and investigations are ongoing into what triggered the incident. 

Ahmed has maintained that he was assaulted for refusing to chant the slogan. 

The MLC sent by the Yelahanka General Hospital states that he likely suffered an internal injury and that there's reduced hearing in his right ear. 

On Tuesday, Sampigehalli police registered an FIR under BNS sections related to voluntarily causing hurt, criminal intimidation, wrongful restraint and intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace. A manhunt has been launched for the suspects.