PATNA: A group of teenagers in Bihar's Banka district forced Madarsa students to chant 'Jai Shri Ram', triggering tension in the area. The police have since initiated action against the offenders.
The incident took place when students of Masjid Barahat Madarsa were playing in a field near the Madarsa at around 3 pm on Thursday.
The students were assaulted, asked to chant 'Jai Shri Ram', and threatened with dire consequences if they didn't follow their diktats. The students later succumbed to the pressure and chanted 'Jai Shri Ram'.
The offenders, stated to be four in number, also made a video of the entire incident and allowed the students of the Madarsa to go only after they chanted 'Jai Shri Ram'.
In the viral video, offenders can be heard asking the students to chant 'Jai Shri Ram' at the top of their voices.
The offenders later said, "Now you have become Hindus and are free. Now nobody can do anything wrong to you."
While three of the named accused belonged to Barhat village, the fourth one is a native of neighbouring Deoghar in Jharkhand and had come to his relative's house.
When contacted, Banka Superintendent of Police Upendra Nath Verma said that four juveniles have been detained for interrogation in connection with the incident.
Earlier, a complaint was lodged by the chief maulvi of the Madarsa in connection with the incident. The accused have been booked under sections 126(2), 115(2), 196, 299, 351(2), and 352/3(5) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The accused were later produced before a juvenile justice board, which remanded them in judicial custody for 14 days.