Man beaten up inside Padmavat Express, case filed; GRP says not a hate crime

Moradabad (Uttar Pradesh) [India], January 15 : Government Railway Police (GRP) on Sunday said it had registered a complaint in connection with a viral video showing a man being assaulted by 10-11 miscreants inside the Padmavat Express in Uttar Pradesh.
In a complaint lodged with the GRP, the passenger alleged that he was forced to chant the 'Jai Shri Ram' slogan and the attackers even pulled his beard.
In the viral video clip, the man is purportedly seen being thrashed by the attackers.
However, dismissing any hate crime angle to the January 12 incident, GRP CO Devi Dayal said, "The victim was travelling from Delhi to Moradabad. Around 11 pm, when the train reached Hapur, 10 to 11 men entered the coach and beat him up."
A case was registered based on the victim's statement, the GRP CO said, adding that the allegation of the victim being made to chant 'Jai Shri Ram' and having his beard pulled at, turned out to be false on being investigated.
"After examining the video clip and conducting a preliminary inquiry, we found the allegation of a hate crime angle to be false. Neither was his beard pulled and nor was he made to chant a religious slogan," Dayal told ANI.
"The video also shows a woman in the carriage being harassed by the miscreants but she hasn't come forward to lodge a complaint. We'll take necessary action once a complaint is lodged," the GRP CO added.