Muslim boy set on fire in India for 'refusing to chant Hindu slogan'

A Muslim teenager was set on fire in northern India after he refused to chant a Hindu slogan, local media reported, in the latest act of mob violence to shock the nation.

The 15-year-old was kidnapped in the Chandauli district of Uttar Pradesh by a group of men who poured kerosene on him and set him on fire after refusing to chant 'Jai Shri Ram'.

The boy was admitted to hospital on Sunday night with 60 percent burns and died from his injuries on Tuesday, India Today reported.

Police in Chandauli claim the boy set himself on fire and that the teenager gave contradictory statements.

Last month, Indian police arrested 11 people over the killing of a Muslim man who was tortured and forced to chant Hindu slogans.

A video showed the 24-year-old crying and pleading as a mob in Jharkhand state forced him to chant 'Jai Sri Ram' - hail Lord Ram - a slogan widely used by Hindu hardliners.

Dozens of people have been killed by Hindu groups over the past five years over allegations that they had slaughtered cows or eaten beef.

Experts say the landslide election win in 2014 by Modi's conservative Bharatiya Janata Party has emboldened Hindu hardliners.

The BJP won an even bigger majority in May leading to fears of more communal violence.

Opponents in India have also accused the government of not doing enough to stop lynchings.

The US religious freedom report said there had been growing numbers of attacks by groups claiming to protect cows - considered sacred by Hindus - on Muslims and low-caste Dalits since 2014 when Modi came to power.