Three boys attacked over 'Shri Ram' chant in Godhra

Three boys from a community were allegedly thrashed by six unidentified men for refusing to say 'Shri Ram' in Godhra. A complaint regarding the same was lodged with the Godhra A division police of Pachmahal on Thursday night.

The complainant Siddique Bhagat claimed that on Thursday night at around 11 pm, six unidentified men on two motorcycles stopped his son Samir (17) and his friends Salman Gheeteli and Sohail Bhagat when the trio was returning home on a bike.

The complaint stated: "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 the forehead while another hit Salman on the head with a blunt object."

Speaking to DNA, Siddique Bhagat said, "In the meantime, people started to gather at the spot which forced the accused to flee."

However, CCTV footage has a different story to tell, said Leena Patil Superintendent Police (SP) of Panchmahal district. "The altercation broke out when the bikes tried to overtake each other. The fight lasted for about 30 seconds after which all sex left the spot. The incident can't be termed as 'mob lynching'. Neither were they forced to chant 'Shri Ram'. Still, we will investigate."

"We have already arrested five boys in the matter, while one is minor is yet to be nabbed. All six are aged between 17 to 23 years," said Patil.