Muslim boy beaten in northern India

A 16-year-old Muslim boy was allegedly beaten by unidentified men for wearing a traditional skull cap in northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, said local police officials.

According to police, Mohammad Taj was attacked in Kanpur town, when he was returning home after Friday prayers.

Unidentified motorcyclists stopped Taj a few hundred metres from his house for overtaking them and objected him wearing the skull cap, station house officer Satish Kumar Singh told Press Trust of India.

He was also forced to chant Hindu religious hymns and was kicked and punched badly after he refused to do so, said the report.

Taj told Anadolu Agency, "I was beaten badly by them. They threatened that I should not wear the skull cap. They also asked me to chant 'Hail Lord Rama'. When some people came to help me, they [the attackers] left the spot."

The local police has registered a First Information Report (FIR). The search is on to nab the attackers.

Many such incidents have taken place in India recently. Tabrez Ansari in eastern state of Jharkhand was tortured for hours, died of his wounds last week in the latest suspected lynching incident by Hindu vigilantes.