New Delhi: Workers at a bakery in Pune were made to do sit-ups by members of a local Hindu festival organising committee for refusing to pay them donation for the upcoming birthday festival of Hindu deity Ganesh.
According to police, the accused went to the bakery in Bhosari area on August 15, and demanded ‘vargani’ (donation) of Rs. 151 from the 11 Muslim workers for the Ganesh festival.
Watch: Pay up or do sit ups! Gulf News World Deputy Editor Nasheet Jaffer Khan talks about a punishment video that went viral in India.
The workers, who are non-Maharashtrians, said the owner of the shop was not there and hence they did not give the donation.
According to some reports, the workers tried to negotiate the donation amount which angered the members of the festival organising committee.
Following the dispute on donation, the accused, identified as Prakash Landage, Ganesh Landage and Mahesh Mare, abused the workers and later made them to do sit-ups on the main road outside their bakery.
The workers, aged between 20 and 30 years old, from Uttar Pradesh left Pune after they were asked to do sit-ups as punishment, which was recorded on video and published online.
A purported video of the incident has gone viral, while the three accused have been arrested.
The police said the video shows the workers doing sit-ups for 15 minutes while holding their ears and they are being told to say sorry repeatedly.
“We have booked three members of the Ganesh festival organising committee. It is a serious matter and the trio has to appear before the court now,” Assistant Police Inspector Mahesh Swamy informed Gulf News.
