india

Updated: Oct 06, 2019 19:18 IST

Two men were arrested on Sunday morning on charges of forcing a Muslim couple to shout Jai Shri Ram and outraging the modesty of the woman in Alwar around midnight on Saturday, the police said.

The two were produced before a judge on Sunday, and remanded in judicial custody till October 18, the police added.

The police said a Muslim couple from Haryana was waiting at Alwar bus stand on Saturday when around 11.30pm, two men on a motorcycle came and began harassing them. “According to the FIR, they forced the couple to chant Jai Shri Ram and one of the men flashed before the woman,” police said.

Station house officer of Alwar Mahila Thana Chauthmal Verma said the FIR was registered at the Kotwali police station and transferred to them for investigation. “When one of the men flashed before the woman, the onlookers intervened and called the police. The two men were handed over to Kotwali police. We arrested them after recording the couple’s statement,” Verma said.

The men have been identified as Vansh Bhardwaj, 23, and Surendra Mohan Bhatia, 32. Bhatia, the police said, was drunk. “We got his medical examination done,” the police officer said.

Verma said the two have been booked under section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 354A (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 386 (extortion by putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt ), 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

After completing the formalities, the couple, the police officer said, was allowed to go early Sunday morning.

Bhardwaj has two other criminal cases against him registered in Kotwali police station. The cases are of voluntarily causing hurt, wrongful restraint and house trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint.