Hathras Holi row: Man booked for ‘forcing’ youth from minority community to chant slogans, smearing colour on them

Police said after the video went viral, a team was immediately tasked with tracing the men in the clip and their statements were recorded. The two men are residents of Hathras.

In another video that surfaced on social media, the victim, Farman, claimed that he and his friend were returning home in a tempo when the accused stopped their vehicle. He alleged that the accused assaulted them and forced them to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ before recording a video and smearing colour on them.

“Unhone hamare upar rang wagairah bhi lagaya. Kehne lage naare lagao… humne mana kiya tha. Woh maar rahe the aur bol rahe the ki sarafat sey rang lagwao, warna maarenge aapko. (They smeared colours on us. They told us to chant slogans… we refused. They were beating us and saying, ‘Accept the colors politely, otherwise we’ll beat you),’” he said in the video.

Farman added that he felt deeply distressed over the incident and demanded justice, stating that he would otherwise take an extreme step.

In a third video that surfaced later, the accused is purportedly heard claiming that he had no intention of hurting anyone’s sentiments and had only wished people ‘Happy Holi’.

He added that chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ was merely an expression of his faith and claimed he did not force any Muslim person to celebrate Holi. He also alleged that the youth seen in the video was already smeared with colours, while he had only applied some gulal.

He further claimed he respects members of the Muslim community, many of whom he described as his “brothers”. However, he said he is a staunch follower of his religion and is not afraid of legal action, saying that cases and lawsuits may continue but he will stand by his beliefs.

“Jai Shri Ram, Jai Gau Mata,” he added.