Muslims attacked and forced to chant Hindu slogan in Mumbai
Videos from aftermath of Eid Milad-un-Nabi procession show Muslim biker being beaten and others forced to chant “Jai Shri Ram”
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — Muslim men were assaulted, chased and forced to chant a Hindu religious slogan after tensions surrounding an Eid Milad-un-Nabi procession erupted into violence in Mumbai, according to videos that surfaced from the incident.
The violence broke out Wednesday night in the Parel-Chinchpokli area of India’s financial capital during or shortly after a procession marking the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of God be upon him).
Videos circulating from the area show a group repeatedly punching a Muslim motorcyclist and striking him with a helmet.
Another shows a man abusing two Muslim youths for entering the Lalbaug-Parel area and forcing them to chant “Jai Shri Ram,” or “Glory to Lord Ram,” a Hindu religious slogan.
The same man makes the youths perform sit-ups while holding their ears, a form of humiliation commonly used as punishment. In another video, a group can be seen chasing a Muslim man while people shout, “Beat up this mullah,” using a term for a Muslim cleric.
The attacks occurred amid a wider confrontation involving stone-throwing between two groups, but competing accounts have emerged over what initially triggered the unrest.
Mumbai Police said the confrontation began with a verbal dispute after slogans were raised by both sides before escalating into physical violence and stone-pelting.
Other accounts have pointed to an alleged attempt to desecrate a religious flag carried by Muslims returning from the procession. There were also claims that tensions began over motorcycles with modified exhausts, traffic violations or objections to noise.
Police said they were investigating the precise sequence of events and urged people not to draw conclusions from unverified claims circulating on social media.
Joint Commissioner of Police Manoj Sharma said senior officers had been deployed to the area and that the situation was brought under control.
“There is no such issue anymore. Senior officers are on-site, and the situation is completely calm. Please do not believe rumours,” Sharma said.
Additional police personnel remained deployed in Parel, Chinchpokli and surrounding neighborhoods as a precaution, while some roads were temporarily restricted following the violence.
While those seen assaulting and humiliating Muslims in the videos had not been arrested, Mumbai Police filed a case against three Muslim men — Rehan Masood Sayyad, 19, Adil Khan Ahmed Khan, 19, and Miraj Mohammad Firoz Rais, 18 — in connection with the violence and launched a search for them.
Unidentified people have also reportedly been named in related complaints
The three face allegations including unlawful assembly and rioting under India’s criminal law and the Maharashtra Police Act.
The videos showing Muslims being assaulted have meanwhile prompted demands that police also identify and prosecute those responsible for the attacks.
Waris Pathan, a former state lawmaker from the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, called the beating of the Muslim motorcyclist “extremely serious” and urged police to identify and arrest the men visible in the footage.
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