Muslim minors thrashed in Madhya Pradesh’s Ratlam, forced to chant ‘Jai Sri Ram’

Trigger Warning: Violence Against Minors

A disturbing video showing three minor boys being thrashed by an individual has surfaced on social media. In the video, the aggressor — who also appears to be a minor — can be seen hitting and hurling expletives at the others alleging they had been smoking.

The incident, which took place near the Amrit Sagar Talab in Madhya Pradesh’s Ratlam over a month ago, soon turned communal. Here’s what happened.

A Violent Ordeal

When struck, one of the boys cries out “Allah” in pain, which enrages the assaulter. He proceeds to remove his shoe and starts hitting them with it again, forcing them to chant “Jai Sri Ram”.

“Kya bola, kya bola? Allah?” (“What did you say, what did you say? Allah?”), the aggressor is heard saying repeatedly. The next 30 seconds of the footage show him relentlessly beating the three with his footwear as they cry and beg for mercy. At one point, one of the boys hits his head on the guardrail next to which he is sitting.

“Ab nahi bolunga” (“I won’t say it anymore”), one of the minors pleads after being repeatedly struck. Another child cries out “Jai Sri Ram”, which seems to momentarily calm down the aggressor, prompting the third child to say the same. But the aggressor repeatedly hits the the kid who initially invoked “Allah” until he too repeats the chant “Jai Sri Ram.”

This minor can also be heard saying, “Khoon nikal raha hai” (“I’m bleeding”) but the tormentor does not stop. All this while, even as the kids weep in pain, someone continues to film the ordeal. Finally, the aggressor turns to the other two hurling expletives as he puts his shoe back on.

Alt News has blurred the video to protect the identities of all individuals involved, as they are minors.

The Assailants

According to the First Information Report (FIR) accessed by Alt News, the three young boys were sitting near a construction area when the altercation happened. The report also says that after the attack, the aggressors — the one who is seen assaulting the boys and the other who made the video — allegedly threatened to kill them if they disclosed the incident. The report states the date of the offence as October 20.

In the FIR, the victims state that the aggressors even forcibly picked up one of them in an attempt to take him away. “We somehow saved our lives, ran away from there and went home. Due to fear, we did not tell anyone,” it reads.

Our investigation found that of the three boys, the youngest is aged 7-8 years while the other two are 13. “After the assault ended, the two individuals decided to take one of the boys with them. They grabbed the youngest and started leading him away. The minors became even more frightened… They told me that the aggressors had gone quite a distance with the child before they somehow managed to rescue him and escape,” advocate Imran Khokar, who helped file the FIR, told Alt News.

Khokar confirmed that the one beating up the boys was indeed a minor and has been arrested and presented in juvenile court. However, the one recording the whole thing, an adult named Veer Parmar, is still absconding. Both the perpetrators are from Ratlam.

The advocate also told us that on the afternoon of December 5, an intoxicated Parmar, showed someone the video, bragging about the incident. This person happened to be an acquaintance of Khokar’s and somehow managed to get hold of the video. It was then circulated and reached Khokar at 5 pm that evening. He immediately approached the additional superintendent of police and an FIR was lodged subsequently.

Khokar also told us that the youngest one beaten up was an orphan, whose parents had died in an accident recently. He lives with his grandmother, aunt and siblings now. “After the video went viral, we went to his house to call him. He was so traumatized that he locked himself in a room. We had to break the door down with the help of the police to get him out.”

Alt News also reached out to the parents of the other two victims of the attack. The father of one of the 13-year-old victims said that he received the video from his friends, who recognized his son. “It was a Friday. After prayers, they went to play at Amrit Talab… These people started beating them and during the attack, my son shouted ‘Allah.’ After hearing that, they forced them to say ‘Jai Sri Ram’ and hit them repeatedly… They told the children not to tell anyone at home… I don’t know the individuals who assaulted them. This is the first time I’m seeing them,” he said. When asked about his son’s condition, the father said, “He is fine but scared… He had to go to the police station, the police are investigating…”

“When it happened, my son was unusually quiet and seemed scared. He was scared of how people around him would react… This is the first case in Ratlam that I know of. These cases usually do not happen in Ratlam. Ours is a peaceful area. I just hope the accused are penalised so that these cases don’t happen in the future,” said the parent of the other victim.

The perpetrators have been charged under sections 296 (uttering indecent or obscene expressions in public places); 115(2) (voluntarily hurting someone); 126(2) (wrongfully restraining someone); 351(2) (criminal intimidation); 196 (promoting enmity between groups); and 3(5) (dealing with criminal acts by more than one person) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.