OBC man in Gujarat 'forced' to shave off moustache over 'Sinh' suffix

OBC man in Gujarat 'forced' to shave off moustache over 'Sinh' suffix

OBC man in Gujarat 'forced' to shave off moustache over 'Sinh' suffix

Police detained four persons from Godh village in Palanpur taluka of Banaskantha district after a video of the purported incident was circulated on the social media.

Complainant Ranjit Thakor, a resident of Manaka village, had alleged that some men from the Rajput community from Godh village abducted him on May 27 evening and forced him to cut his moustache for adding suffix 'Sinh' to his name.

In the video, Thakor is purportedly seen apologising to some men at a secluded place and shaving off his moustache using a razor.

In the background, some men can be heard purportedly asking Thakor to withdraw all the invitation cards distributed by his family members for a social event scheduled to be held at their residence on June 3.

"Looking at the seriousness of the issue, we have detained four persons, including a minor. We will take strict action against those who are trying to create enmity between communities and are circulating such videos," said Superintendent of Police, Banaskantha, Niraj Badgujar.

An FIR was registered on Tuesday against unidentified persons under section 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 153 (promoting enmity between communities) and 341 (Punishment for wrongful restraint) of the IPC, said Police Sub Inspector, A Y Patel.

Thakor's father Bhikhaji Thakor told PTI that some Rajput men from Godh village had been unhappy since his son's name got printed as 'Ranjitsinh' on the invitation cards for the June 3 function.

"Though it is common that men from the Thakor community also use 'Sinh' suffix, some Rajputs from Godh village did not like it when my son's name was printed as 'Ranjitsinh'. That is why they abducted my son and forced him to shave off his moustache on Sunday," he claimed.

It is to be noted that a group of Rajputs had clashed with Dalits in in Dholka town in Ahmedabad last week after a Dalit man decided to add the suffix 'Sinh' to his name.