Indian girls attacked by peers for meeting up with Muslim friends

A video showing the men physically assaulting the women was shared widely on social media.

By TAMAR BEN-OZER
Updated: JANUARY 4, 2018 20:14
Mangalore, India (photo credit: BYAWARSI / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
Mangalore, India
(photo credit: BYAWARSI / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
Two Indian teenage girls were assaulted by a group of young men in Mangalore on Tuesday, allegedly because the girls met up with Muslim boys, says a report in the BBC.
An article in the Hindustan Times reported that according to local police, "the girls, a Hindu and Christian, had gone with their Muslim friends to the zoo to celebrate a birthday when they were assaulted around 11 am." The article also stated that police arrested three individuals for the attack. Local police reported that the teenagers all attend the same secondary school in Mangalore.
A video showing the men physically assaulting the women was shared online on Tuesday. In it, you can discern one of the men hitting one of the women while being carried away by police. After being shared widely on social media, the video instigated outrage about the "moral-policing" culture in India, which has become more prevalent in the conservative country in recent years.
According to a report in The Times of India, the girls' attackers claim to be members of the right-wing Hindu organization Bajrang Dal, a militant youth group.