Couple forced to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’

Two men were arrested on Sunday morning for allegedly forcing a Muslim couple to chant Jai Shri Ram and outraging the modesty of the woman in Alwar around midnight on Saturday, police said.

Police said the couple from Haryana was waiting to board a bus at Alwar bus stand on Saturday night. Around 11.30pm, two men on a motorcycle came and began harassing them.

Chauthmal Verma, station house officer of Alwar Mahila thana, said a first information report (FIR) was registered at the Kotwali police station and transferred to them for investigation. “When one of the men flashed before the woman, the onlookers intervened and called police. The two men were handed over to Kotwali police. We arrested them after recording the couple’s statement,” Verma said.

The accused have been identified as Vansh Bhardwaj, 23, and Surendra Mohan Bhatia, 32. Bhatia, police said, was drunk at the time of the incident. “We got his medical examination done,” the police officer said.

Verma said the two have been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

While the couple was allowed to go home early Sunday morning, the two accused were produced before a judge on Sunday, and sent in judicial custody until October 18, police added.

Verma added that Bhardwaj has two other criminal cases registered against him at Kotwali police station, for voluntarily causing hurt, wrongful restraint and house trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint.