On Saturday, a total of six people were arrested in connection with a man being tonsured and forced to chant anti-Nepal slogans in Uttar Pradesh. Police also said that the man is an Indian national and a resident of Varanasi. The cops also said that man was paid Rs 1,000 for being recorded in the video.
A video of the incident had surfaced online and was widely shared. In the viral video, some people can be seen tonsuring the man, who is seated cross-legged near a river and forcing him to say "Jai Shri Ram" and "Nepal PM Murdabad". The video also showed 'Jai Shri Ram' being painted on the man's scalp by members of the group. In the video, the victim was heard speaking in Nepali, but the police said he might not be a citizen of Nepal as initially believed.
While speaking to news agency ANI, Varanasi SSP Amit Pathak said, “A person, Arun Pathak, posted a video on Facebook on July 16 containing objectionable remarks about political persons from neighbouring country. We took cognisance of the video and registered a case”.
“We’ve arrested 6 persons in connection with the case. We contacted the person seen in video. He is Indian national and was paid Rs 1,000 for being recorded in video. We’re investigating the matter”, the officer further said.
Soon after the video went viral on social media, netizens took to Twitter and condemned the act. One user said, "This is how they manufacture fake news." Another user said, "Not only Kashmiris, Sanghis have started attacking Nepalis in India - In Modi's constituency Varanasi, they forcibly shaved the head of a Nepali!"
Here's what netizens said:
The incident took place after, Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had claimed that Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Rama, is in Nepal and Lord Rama was Nepali. "Although real Ayodhya lies at Thori, city in the west of Birgunj, India has claimed that Lord Rama was born there. Due to these continuous claims even we have believed that deity Sita got married to Prince Rama of India. However, in reality, Ayodhya is a village lying west of Birgunj," he had said.
Nepal Foreign Ministry had later sought to downplay the row over Oli's remarks and said the Prime Minister "was simply highlighting the importance of further studies" and the remarks were not meant to debasing the significance of Ayodhya and the cultural value it bears."
(Inputs from Agencies)
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