Three priests from Haryana identified as Gaurav Kumar Gopinath and Sunil Kumar were brutally beaten up by a Hindutva mob in front of Lisari Gate Police station in Pralhad Nagar for allegedly being Muslims in disguise.
The incident was recorded and posted online by one of the attackers.
The mob accused them of being a part of a child kidnapping gang and were beaten with sticks and rods after they failed to recite Hanuman Chalisa and other mantras.
Images and videos went viral where the priests are seen crying and screaming in pain.
The Police after getting information that the sadhus were involved in kidnapping took the three of them for inquiry. Suspicion arose among locals as they didn’t live in that area and were seen begging in many places.
The Meerut Police earlier denied the claims of hostage-taking and assault on the priests. However, after the incident went viral, Police started an investigation.
After Police interrogation, all the allegations against the three victims were proven wrong. The three of them were in fact, Hindus, residents of Jagadhri in Haryana coming from the Nath community.
Investigation is underway. So far, two people have been taken into Police Custody for interrogation.
