A Muslim man was beaten, paraded through a street and forced to chant "Jai Shree Ram" (Hail Lord Ram) by a mob in India's Uttar Pradesh state on Wednesday, reported the Indian Tv channel NDTV.

Video footage of the incident, circulating on social media, showed the victim — a rickshaw driver in UP's Kanpur town — being forced to chant the slogan and begging the attackers to not beat him while his daughter clung to him. He was later handed over to the police.

Distressing footage of the incident shot by locals shows the man's little daughter clinging on to him and begging the attackers to spare him. The footage also shows the man being hit while in the custody of the police.

The NDTV report quoted the man as saying that he was driving his rickshaw when the mob "started abusing and assaulting me and threatening to kill me and my family".

"I got saved because of the police," he added.

In a statement, the Kanpur police said they have filed a case of rioting against a local who runs a marriage band, his son and around 10 unknown people, based on a complaint by the assaulted man.

The report further stated that the incident took place less than a kilometre away from an intersection where a right-wing group — Bajrang Dal — held a meeting earlier in the day in which people complained that Muslims in the area were "trying to convert a Hindu girl".

The assault happened right after the meeting, the NDTV report stated. However, it noted, the police have not confirmed whether the attackers were affiliated with the Bajrang Dal. The police have not said if the men named in the case are affiliated to the organisation.

The man said in his complaint that the assailants also threatened to kill him and his family.

The man is a relative of a Muslim family in the locality that is involved in a legal dispute with their Hindu neighbours. The Kanpur police statement says in July, the two families filed cases against each other at the local police station.

The Muslim side had filed an FIR of assault and criminal intimidation first. The Hindu side then filed a case alleging "assault with the intent to outrage the modesty of a woman".