A roadside Dalit food vendor in Greater Noida was on Friday thrashed by three men who allegedly hurled caste slurs at him.

A video circulating on social media shows a seller of vegetarian biryani being repeatedly slapped, with one of the attackers ordering him to “fold your hands”.

Greater Noida superintendent of police Ranvijay Singh said an FIR had been registered against three accused. “We have also spoken to the biryani vendor. An investigation is under way and the accused will be arrested soon,” Singh said.

Another video shows a man, purportedly the vendor, saying the attackers had asked his caste and started thrashing him.

He alleges that the men asked him “How can you (a Dalit) sell biryani here” and threatened to shoot him if they saw him at the spot again.

Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad received a warning from the police after he asked local members of his Dalit emancipation group to reach out to the vendor and “ensure action”.

“The Bhim Army’s Noida team should reach the spot immediately and ensure action,” Azad had tweeted in Hindi.

Gautam Buddh Nagar police warned Azad against causing law-and-order problems. “Arrests will be made soon in this case. Do not vitiate the atmosphere. It’s the police’s job to ensure the arrest of those seen beating the vendor in the video,” senior superintendent of police Vaibhav Krishna tweeted.

He added: “It’s also the responsibility of the police to initiate strict action against you in case you try to vitiate the atmosphere.”