An imam in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat has filed a police complaint against three persons for allegedly forcing him to chant Jai Shri Ram at gunpoint and assaulting him when he refused.

The alleged attack on Imam Mujib-ur-Rahman took place on Tuesday, but the police allegedly registered a case a day later when senior officers intervened. Two of the accused were arrested on Wednesday evening.

“The imam had filed a case with the police that some people thrashed him and tried to force him to chant Jai Shri Ram. We have arrested two of the accused and are looking for the third,” said Manish Mishra, additional superintendent of police.

The officer claimed that the police took action as soon as the complaint was filed.

Mujib-ur-Rahman, son of Sheher-e-Kazi Habib-ur-Rahman, told reporters: “I was returning home after offering evening prayers at a mosque when three youths stopped me, put a saffron scarf around my neck, assaulted me and asked me to chant Jai Shri Ram and Hindustan Zindabad. They punched and kicked me when I refused to say Jai Shri Ram. We met the superintendent of police on Wednesday when the Kotwali police delayed in taking action against the accused persons, who had run away when some people gathered there.”

Arpit Vijayvargiya, the police chief of Baghpat, said: “The accused were identified with the help of CCTV footage. Two of the accused — Rahul Kumar and Jitendra Kumar of Baghpat town — have been arrested.”

The police didn’t reveal the name of the third accused.

Baghpat has a substantial Muslim population. A fortnight ago, some unidentified men had painted a mausoleum there saffron.

Baghpat was one of the worst affected districts when communal violence broke out in adjoining Muzaffarnagar in 2013. Over 50 people, including a dozen from Baghpat, had been killed.