Bajrang Dal activists threaten journalist to chant 'Jai Shri Ram' or have his car set on fire

Munne Bharti, a journalist for NDTV, was stopped by Bajrang Dal activists on Wednesday and told to chant Jai Shri Ram or else his car would be set on fire, media reports said. [caption id=“attachment_3768475” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] India Today reported that Bharti and his family were on their way to Rahimbad, a village in Bihar’s Samastipur district. The family got stuck in a traffic jam near Margan Chowk on National Highway 28 and had to take a detour. Bharti told BBC Hindi that the incident happened when he drove his car in another direction, where there was less traffic. He then saw that a truck was halted in the middle of the road by Bajrang Dal activists. The activists were wearing orange scarves and chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’. A young man came in front of his car and looked at him carefully. Bharti asked the man why the road is blocked and the man told Bharti to leave quickly or else they would burn his car. The man then looked inside his car and noticed his father with a beard, and his wife who was wearing a nikab, as reported by India Today. “On seeing this, their sloganeering intensified, and before I could understand what was going on, two people shoved their heads into the car through the windows and said, ‘Chant Jai Shri Ram or we will set your car on fire’, sending me in shock,” Bharti recounts in his Facebook post:

According to The Indian Express, sensing danger, Bharti along with his family members agreed to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’. The family were let off by the activists and then took a detour, continuing their journey. In previous instances, DNA reported that unknown men threatened a Muslim man to chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’. The chanting has been captured on video, but the video’s authenticity remains unknown. Instances of saffronisation and fanaticism seem to be on the rise, with the stabbing of a Muslim teenager , Hafiz Junaid, in Haryana. A group of 15-20 people boarded a Mathura-bound train, and reportedly called the Muslim family “anti-nationals” and “beef eaters”. The mob then threw their skull caps on the floor, grabbing their beards, and abusing them.