MT Desk: A shocking incident at Ideal College in Kalyan in Maharashtra’s Thane District has raised serious concern among Muslims after Hindu groups forced three Muslim students to apologise for offering namaz. The students were pushed into touching the feet of an idol while police officers stood by and watched. A video of the Muslim boys offering namaz in an empty classroom went viral, after which members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal rushed to the college and created a ruckus. They accused the students of hurting Hindu sentiments and demanded strict action.

One of the Muslim students told reporters that they did not expect such a reaction. “We were only praying for a few minutes in an empty room. We did not want to hurt anyone. We did not break anything or disturb anyone,” he said. However, instead of settling the matter quietly, the situation turned into a public humiliation. A second video surfaced showing the three Muslim boys being ordered by members of the Hindutva groups to do sit-ups and apologise in front of a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
The video also shows the accused threatening the boys. One member of the group can be heard shouting that they should be punished. They forced the students to touch the idol’s feet. As the terrified boys did so, several men shouted “Jai Shri Ram”. A local Muslim resident who witnessed the scene said, “They treated the children like criminals. The police were standing there and did nothing. The boys were crying. This is not law; this is bullying.”
According to eyewitnesses, police arrived soon after the disturbance began. Instead of stopping the bullying, officers allowed the Hindutva men to continue their behaviour. Many Muslims in the area say this is becoming common in BJP-ruled states. A parent of one of the Muslim boys said, “My son was forced to bend before an idol. This is not apology; this is humiliation. The police should have protected him. Instead, they let these groups do whatever they wanted.”
Muslims say what happened in Kalyan is part of a larger pattern. Recently in Pune, BJP MP Medha Kulkarni poured cow urine inside a fort after a group of Muslim women offered namaz there. Instead of questioning the MP, police filed an FIR only against the Muslim women. A Muslim social worker in Mumbai said, “This is not law and order. This is one-sided targeting. Hindu groups do whatever they want, and Muslims are punished even when they pray quietly.”