Bengaluru: An FIR has been registered at Halasuru Gate police station against three MPs of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya, Bengaluru Central MP P. C. Mohan, and Udupi-Chikkamagalur MP Shobha Karandlaje — and 44 others for organising a protest in Nagarthpet. 

The protest was staged earlier this week against the assault on a shopkeeper who was brutally thrashed for playing ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ during ‘Azan.’ 

The BJP leaders have been booked by the police under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including 143, 149, 188, 283, 290 and 268, according to the FIR accessed by the Republic. 

The incident was reported on Sunday in the city's Siddanna Layout area. A few Muslim youths questioned the shopkeeper for playing ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ during ‘Azan’, and an argument ensued, leading to them hitting the shopkeeper, claimed reports. 

"I was playing Hanuman bhajan. 4-5 people came and said it is time for Azaan and if you play it we will beat you. They beat me and also threatened me that they would stab me with a knife," said the shopkeeper who was attacked by a group of over five men for playing loud music.

A video of the incident surfaced on social media showing the men coming to the shop and initiating an argument. Subsequently, one of the men grabbed the shopkeeper by his collar, prompting the latter to hit him back in self-defense. 

The BJP leaders and pro-Hindu outfits staged a massive protest in Bengaluru in Nagarthpet demanding stringent action against the accused and blaming the Congress government for appeasement politics.