On the first Monday of Saawan, two Kanwariyas were beaten up by men of the Muslim community for chanting ‘Bol-Bam’ in the Jaunpur district of Uttar Pradesh. Communal tension flared up as angry Kanwariyas blocked roads protesting against the incident.

Reportedly, the incident happened at 12:30 in the night, while the Kanwariyas were walking towards a Shiv temple carrying the holy water. As they were walking by two Muslim youth approached the Kanwariyas. They objected to them chanting ‘Bol-Bum’ and asked them to be quite. The Kanwariyas refused to do so. It was then when they started to beat up two Kanwariyas. Both of them have been admitted to a government hospital. One of them, Vikas Gupta, was seriously injured as he was hit in the head.

Angry at the incident, the rest of the Kanwariyas soon gathered and blocked the Mariahu-Jaunpur road, raising slogans against the attack. The police had to call in a large force to calm down the angry Kanwariyas. The group finally stopped protesting after they were assured of action against the accused.

The police have now filed FIRs against Arif and Riyaz under various sections including for Dalit oppression. One of the accused has also been arrested. The Kanwariyas have been assured that the case would be investigated and strict action would be taken against the accused.

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A few days ago, in Rajasthan’s Alwar district, a Dalit man named Harish Jatav died on Thursday after battling for his life for two days. Harish was allegedly beaten mercilessly by a mob after his bike hurt a Muslim woman in the Fasla village

Earlier this month, in Gauria village Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh a mob of Muslims attacked a Mahadev Mandir and damaged the structure.

On July 5, a Muslim mob had attacked a peaceful protest march against the temple vandalism organised by Hindu organisations in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.