Bengaluru Man 'Attacked' by Mob in Cinema Hall, Arrested For Allegedly Insulting National Anthem

New Delhi: Bengaluru police on Wednesday arrested 29-year-old man after he refused to stand up while the national anthem was playing.

In a Twitter post, the resident of Sanjaynagar, wrote about being attacked by a mob at an INOX movie theatre after he had remained seated during the anthem. "I was assaulted and harassed by thugs at an INOX Movies theatre," he wrote.

In another statement on Reddit, Jithin described being physically assaulted by several other movie-goers, who then began to incite the crowd against him. "Thugs in front of me start a fight with me unprovoked because I did not stand up for the national anthem. I get hit on the face and they incite a crowd against me," the post reads.

According to him, the manager remained "flippant" about the incident and even the police dismissed the "mob".

Jithin was booked under the Prevention of Insult to National Honours Act for "disrespecting' the national anthem.

"Intially, the police told me they wanted to take my statement as I wanted to file a case against those who had attacked me but later they began to act hostile towards me and detained me against my will," he was quoted by The News Minute as saying.

The police told the Bengaluru-based news outlet that Jithin was arrested after a complaint was lodged according to which he had "hurled expletives" while the national anthem was playing.

A disclaimer in Jithin's post, however, contended that he was provoked into "unloading" the expletives after the crowd threatened him with bodily harm.

As per an earlier Supreme Court order, it is not mandatory to stand during the national anthem, if it is being played inside a cinema hall.