Three Muslim boys ‘attacked’ for not saying Shri Ram in Godhra
Godhra, Aug 2: Three Muslim boys were allegedly thrashed by six unidentified men for refusing to say "Shri Ram" in Gujarat's Godhra town, police said on Friday.
Siddique Bhagat, the complainant, claimed that six unidentified men on two motorcycles stopped his son Samir (17), and his friends Salman Gheeteli and Sohail Bhagat when the trio were returning home on motorbike on Thursday night.
"The accused asked my son and his friends to chant `Shri Ram'. When the boys refused, they started thrashing them. One of them hit Samir with a bicycle chain on forehead while another man hit Salman on head with a blunt object," he said.
"Before leaving, the assailants threatened to kill them if they were seen again in the area," stated the First Information Report (FIR) registered at Godhra Town police station, reported in PTI.
Samir and his friends who were injured were taken to the civil hospital by some local people, said police inspector H C Rathva.
"As the victims are not in a position to speak right now, we do not have more details. We have registered an FIR against six unidentified persons," Rathva added.
Incidents of members of the minority community being assaulted for refusing to say `Jai Shri Ram' have been reported from several parts of the country recently.
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Voting begins for Assam''s 126 assembly seats
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Guwahati (PTI): Polling for all 126 Assam assembly constituencies began on Thursday to decide the electoral fate of 722 candidates, officials said.
In the high-stakes election, the ruling BJP is aiming for a third consecutive term in office, while the Congress seeks to wrest power after being ousted in 2016.
Polling, being held in a single phase, began at 7 am and will conclude at 5 pm. Long queues of voters were seen outside polling stations from early morning.
An electorate of 2.50 crore, including 1.25 crore women and 318 from the third gender, can exercise their franchise in 31,490 polling stations across the state.
Prominent candidates include Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Congress state president Gaurav Gogoi, assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary, Leader of the opposition Debabrata Saikia, AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal, Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi, and Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) chief Lurinjyoti Gogoi.
Several cabinet ministers, including the AGP’s Atul Bora and Keshav Mahanta, and the BPF’s Charan Boro are also in the fray.
The Congress has the highest of 99 contestants, followed by the BJP (90), AIUDF (30), NDA allies AGP (26) and BPF (11).
Opposition alliance’s Raijor Dal is contesting in 13, AJP in 10, CPI(M) in 3 and APHLC in 2. Outside the two coalitions, the AAP is contesting in 18 seats, UPPL in 18, TMC 22, JMM 16 and there are 258 independents.
The ruling NDA’s main constituents are the BJP, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Bodo Peoples’ Front (BPF) while the opposition alliance comprises the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), CPI(M), All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) and CPI(ML).
The counting of votes is scheduled on May 4.
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