AURANGABAD: Police in Maharashtra's Aurangabad city arrested one person Saturday, a day after a Muslim man was allegedly beaten up by a group of hooligans and forced to say "Jai Shriram".
Ganesh Vinod Sonawane (21), the arrested man, is a rickshaw driver and a resident of Bharatnagar locality, a police official said. He was among the assailants who allegedly tried to lynch Imran Ismail Patel in the wee hours of Friday, the official added. Further probe was on, the official said.
Patel, a hotel employee, had said in his complaint that a gang of around ten hooligans stopped him near Hudco Corner in Begumpura area when he was returning home on a motorbike in the early hours of Friday. They snatched away the key of his bike, beat him up and forced him to say "Jai Shriram", he claimed.
A person named Ganesh (not the arrested accused) and his family members who lived nearby rushed to his rescue hearing the commotion and saved his life, Patel had told police. A case under IPC sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on the ground of religion) and 144 (unlawful assembly) was registered.
Incidents of members of the minority community being cornered and forced to say "Jai Shriram" have been reported from various parts of the country, including Thane in Maharashtra, recently.