UTTAR PRADESH: A video has gone viral on social media showing a man slapping three Muslim men, including two elderly individuals, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The footage captures a Hindu extremist physically assaulting the men, who were reportedly only asking for directions in a local neighborhood.The assailant repeatedly slapped and harassed all three victims—sparing neither of the elderly men—simply because of their religious identity.https://www.aljazeera.com/video/newsfeed/2026/2/22/elderly-men-beaten-up-for-being-muslim-in-india#flips-6389711821112:0The attacker was seen chasing them to force them out of the area.Following widespread outrage on social media, local police took notice of the incident and confirmed they have apprehended the culprit. An investigation is currently underway.Hate crimes against Muslims have seen a significant rise in recent years.Reports indicate that 947 incidents of hate crimes were recorded within the first year of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term in office.Three Muslim men were collecting zakat (Islamic charitable donations) for a madrasa during Ramadan. They were on foot, asking for directions to a Muslim neighborhood and the highway.The accused, Akshay Kumar (24 years old), approached them on a scooter.He allegedly stopped them, removed one victim’s cap, slapped them repeatedly, chased them for about 500 meters while hurling abuses, and questioned them aggressively.The victims told him they were collecting donations (zakat), after which the assault escalated.The victims were Abdul Salam (60), Mohammadd Arif (35) and Javed Khan (55)All are residents of Mohiddinpur under Sahsawan Kotwali area.They initially hesitated to report due to fear but went to the police after a video of the incident went viral on social media.An FIR was registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS — the new Indian criminal code).Whereas Akshay Kumar was arrested shortly after. Investigation is ongoing.