In a shocking incident, a Hindu youth was attacked by a group of people for asking them to stand up during the national anthem at a theatre in Jetpur near Rajkot in Gujarat. The victim man saw a group of people in the theatre not standing in respect of the national anthem and he asked them to stand up.
After a verbal confrontation, the man named Mayank Teraiya was allegedly attacked by the others. Police have arrested five including Nawaz and Azim in this case. The incident took place on 30th August 2023.
A man named Mayank Teraiya, who had gone to watch a film with his family, reportedly addressed Nawaz and his friend who did not stand up during the national anthem played before the movie. Provoked by this, the two men called their friends and beat up Mayank during the film’s interval and fled after threatening to kill him. An FIR has been lodged at Jetpur city police station in this regard, a copy of which is available with OpIndia.
A young man named Mayank Teraiya from Jetpur had gone to watch the film with his family at Balaji Cineplex in the city on Wednesday, 30th August 2023. Before the film started, the national anthem was played, during which the audience stood up to honor it but the two accused men sitting in front of Mayank Teraiya did not stand up. One of them is identified as Nawaz. After the completion of the national anthem, Mayank addressed them both and asked them to respect the national anthem. The two accused started abusing Mayank. But both of them sat down as the people around them also supported Mayank.
According to the complaint, during the film’s interval, Nawaz and his friend reached out to Mayank and started verbally abusing him. Mayank was then called outside the theatre as the assailants said, “There is a lot of public here, you come out”. Outside of the cinema hall, three other men also rushed to join Nawaz and his friend. These five men started fighting with Mayank and hurled abuses at him. They eventually ran away as people around also rushed in to save Mayank. But while fleeing, they threatened to kill Mayank again by saying, ‘You survived today, but if you meet again, we will kill you’.
After sustaining injuries, Mayank promptly headed to the government hospital where he received the necessary medical attention. Accompanied by family members, the injured individual and the police then proceeded to the Jetpur city police station to file a formal complaint. This complaint led to the registration of a case against Nawaz Paleja, Azim, and three other individuals. The charges filed against them include sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (misbehaviour and abusing), 506 (2) (threatening to kill), and 114 (presence as abetment at the time of the crime) of the IPC. The law enforcement swiftly apprehended all five accused within a matter of hours.
Immediately after the incident was reported, members of Hindu organizations arrived at the police station. They raised slogans and demanded strong action against the accused. Leaders from the Hindu community emphasized that any form of disrespect towards the nation would not be endured. They asked the police to apprehend and detain individuals involved in such activities.
The victim, Mayank Teraiya, also spoke to OpIndia. He said, “The two youngsters were sitting and joking when the national anthem was being played. After the completion of the national anthem, I asked them why they did not stand up and told that they should be ashamed of their disrespectful behavior. Due to this both of them were enraged but they sat down as the people around us also supported me. But then they called up their other friends and asked them to come to the theatre.”
Mayank Teraiya further said that during the interval, the two youths, along with their other three friends, abused him, attacked him and threatened to kill him. It is learned that after the arrest, the five accused have expressed their readiness to apologize and assure that this will never happen again, but Mayank Teraiya has stated that he is not ready for a ‘compromise’.
