Visually challenged man assaulted, forced to say 'jai shri Ram' in K'taka: police

In a shocking incident, a group of youths burned the beard of a visually challenged elderly Muslim man and forced him to chant jai shri Ram slogans in Koppal district of Karnataka, police said on Saturday.

The group apparently committed the act on the pretext of giving the elderly man a lift. According to police, 65-year-old Hussein Saab, a resident of Mehaboobnagar, is presently undergoing treatment at a hospital.

The incident took place on 25 November near Siddikeri railway bridge in Gangavathi town, when the man was returning to Gangavathi from Hospet late at night. He was waiting for an auto when the accused drove up on a bike, and forced him to get on the vehicle on the pretext of giving him a lift.

They then took him under the railway bridge, burned his beard, and allegedly forced him to chant 'jai shri Ram' slogans. Having assaulted him brutally, the youth robbed cash and escaped, with the victim forced to spend the night underneath the railway bridge.

He was noticed by shepherds in the morning, and they escorted him to his house. Hussain Saab registered a police complaint in this regard, and Koppal SP Yashoda Vantagodi visited the spot, assuring that the accused will be tracked down soon.