Thane cabbie thrashed, forced to say ‘Jai Shri Ram’

Thane: An Ola cab driver was assaulted and almost lynched by some persons who also forced the victim to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’, officials said here on Friday.
While three accused have already been arrested and remanded in police custody till June 29, Mumbra Police are on the lookout for some more suspects in connection with the incident.
According to police, on June 22 night, the cabbie from Mumbra, Faisal Usman Khan, 25, had gone to pick up passengers from Diva on the far end of Thane district.
En route, his vehicle broke down on the Agasan Road and he was trying to repair it with the parking lights blinking.
Suddenly, at least four-five persons, in a drunken state, came on two-wheelers and entered into a petty argument with Khan and started thrashing him, even as the scared passengers fled from the cab.
At one point, when he invoked the name of ‘allah’, the attackers realised that he belonged to a community and forced him to say ‘Jai Shri Ram’.
The injured and bleeding victim, in order to avoid further thrashing, obliged them by repeating ‘Jai Shri Ram’, and fell unconscious as they continued to beat him up.
Later, when he revived, he was in the cab and his mobile phone was stolen, he said.
Later, he narrated the entire incident in a video clip which went viral, attracting condemnation from various quarters and coverage in the local media. (IANS)