Cops make 6 apologise publicly for snatching Muslim man’s skull cap, file FIR suo motu

NEW DELHI: A crowded procession in Marhera, Etah, took an ugly turn on Aug 30 when an elderly Muslim man’s skullcap was snatched from his head and thrown down.Two days later, six men identified from video footage of the incident were arrested by Etah police and made to publicly apologise.The procession had been organised to mark the 195th birth anniversary of Rani Avanti Bai Lodhi, the 1857 freedom fighter and queen of Ramgarh who raised an army against the British and died by suicide in 1858 when faced with defeat.She is remembered as a nationalist icon, particularly among the Lodhi community, with her final act coming to symbolise defiance against foreign rule.The grand march, which drew thousands of participants, was attended by Marehra MLA Virendra Singh Lodhi, former MP Rajveer Singh Raju, Union minister of state B L Verma, Sadar MLA Vipin Kumar Verma and UP state minister Kailash Rajput.The…