'Played Hanuman Chalisa during Azaan time'; shopkeeper brutally assaulted in Bengaluru

BENGALURU: A shopkeeper in Bengaluru’s Siddanna Layout was brutally assaulted by a set of youngsters who questioned the former's audacity to play Hanuman Chalisa in a loud voice. The video of the incident has also gone viral across the internet, while the BJP in the state has taken up the issue and is juxtaposing it with the current plight of Hindus in a congress-ruled Karnataka.

Halasuru Gate Police has arrested three youngsters’ and an investigation is also going on.

According to the injured shopkeeper, a gang of four youngsters reached his shop and questioned his conduct of playing hanuman chalisa in a loud voice during Azaan time. A small altercation took place after the gang threatened to beat him up if the song continued. It is also alleged that the gang threatened to stab the shopkeeper if he intended to defy their command. The shopkeeper for a long had made it a practice to play hanuman chalisa during evening hours, however on Monday, his devotional act didn’t bode well with a set of irate youngsters.

#WATCH | Bengaluru, Karnataka: "I was playing Hanuman bhajan. 4-5 people came and said it is time for Azaan and if you play it we will beat you. They beat me and also threatened me that they would stab me with a knife," says the shopkeeper who was attacked by a group of over five… https://t.co/0ONOXqm2Sw pic.twitter.com/QaS7joDqe8

— ANI (@ANI) March 18, 2024

The opposition BJP questioned the appeasement tactics rolled out by Congress and termed this to be responsible for the burgeoning religion-based scuffles in the state.

“First it was the Pakistan Zindabad slogans raised in Vidhan Soudha, then came the shocking bomb blast in Rameshwaran café, and the latest is a direct attack and threat to one shopkeeper who played a Hindu devotional song. Congress is working up ways to completely destroy the law and order in the city” said opposition leader R Ashoka.

Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya also raised concerns about the recurring ruckus in the state.