JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- An inmate, backed by members of his faith and the American Civil Liberties Union, claims some Duval County corrections officers violated his religious rights by forcing him to cut his hair.

A group of Sikhs protested in front of the jail Sunday, saying that forcing Jagmohan Ahuja to cut his hair while in jail is against his religion.

"It's completely against our religion to cut any hair on your body as it's an integral part of your body," said Jaspreet Singh of United Sikhs.

Members of the Sikh religion protested Sunday outside the jail.

"So please listen to our cries, our pleas. We won't stop here until laws are changed," Singh said.

Ahuja, 36, has been held since April 29 on three misdemeanor charges relating to violation of protective order and violation of probation. According to the jail Web site, he is not eligible for bond.

Ahuja said corrections officers forcibly shaved him and cut his hair. Jail officials said they did it for security reasons despite a pending court appeal to stop it.

"It is required that all sentenced inmates have short hair and not wear head covering in order to prevent hiding contraband and/or weapons," the Asian Pacific Post quoted JSO spokeswoman Lauri-Ellen Smith.

"You're talking about violating huge portion of population's rights," Singh said. "Hasidic Jews, Muslims, Rastafarians: these are all people who fought cases in Florida specifically on issues of hair.

The ACLU told Channel 4 that there have not been any legal cases on this is our area, but this might be the case that changes that.