Indian man forced to apologise, chant 'Bharat Mata ki jai' for supporting Pakistan cricket team

After a video of a shop owner in India's Goa supporting the Pakistan cricket team went viral on social media, he was forced to publicly apologise and shout the phrase "Bharat Mata ki jai", Indian media reported.

A group of men coerced the shop owner into apologising and raising the slogan, a police official claimed, who also added that no complaint had been registered.

The incident took place when a travel vlogger posted an undated video in which a store proprietor in North Goa's Calangute is heard saying that he is rooting for the Pakistan cricket team because it is a Muslim neighbourhood. 

Pakistan was apparently playing New Zealand at the time the video was recorded. The man supporting Pakistan said he was doing so because it was "a Mulsim area".

As a result, the shopkeeper was forced to apologise for his statement.

In the apology video that went viral, people can be seen talking to the man and telling him that there was no Muslim area in the town. 

"This entire village is Calangute. There is no Muslim lane or any other lane. Don't divide the country based on religion," NDTV quoted one of the men in the video as saying. He then asks the shop owner to kneel and apologise for supporting Pakistan. 

The shop owner is seen in the video reluctantly apologising before bowing down and holding his ears. The group can also be seen forcing him to yell "Bharat Mata ki jai" in the video.

A local police official claimed that the man was forced to make an apology. However, he added, "no complaint has been made in relation to the occurrence."

Joseph Sequeira, the sarpanch of Calangute, acknowledged the occurrence, but no official complaint has been made to the local panchayat or any other authority.