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Post-election India sees surge in communal violence and vigilante attacks

CJP Team

In June, an alarming rise in mob violence and hate crimes has cast a dark shadow over the 2024 assembly election results. The incidents range from “Hindutva” mobs harassing and beating Muslims transporting cattle to mob lynchings. Not only Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and even Hindus have also been attacked. Along with this, about 7 cases of heinous mob lynching’s of Muslims have recently taken place across the country. 

There were 10 such incidents of cow vigilantism that took place reportedly from May 28 to June end, where these vigilante mobs attacked people transporting cattle, with three incidents in Rajasthan, in Mal Ki Dhani, Jaipur on June 2 and one took place at an unspecified location on May 28, as per Hate Detectors.

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There were another three that took place in Haryana Julana, and Pachgaon, Mewat on June 15, and Faridabad on June 18. Going ahead, one was reported by Hate Detectors in Maharashtra at Nagar Patti, Dhule on June 17, and another one in Vrindavan and Unnao in Uttar Pradesh. Another such incident was also reported in Khordha, Odisha. 

Churu, Rajasthan

On June 30th, a group of around 20 cow vigilantes brutally assaulted a driver and another man with him in Sadulpur, Rajasthan’s Churu District. The victims are named Sonu Banshiram, 29, and Sundar Singh, 35. They both hailed from Haryana and were transporting lemons from Jaipur to Punjab when they were stopped by the vigilantes on the highway. A huge number of the vigilante groups reportedly began chasing the truck after they allegedly received a ‘tip off’. After they got the truck stopped, they dragged the two men out, and beat them brutally. The police have informed the media that they got to know about the incident from a video uploaded online. 

A video of the incident has surfaced which shows the mob armed with sticks mercilessly beating the victims as they lie down helpless on the ground, as per a report in the Times of India.

Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh

In Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr, two Muslim brothers were brutally thrashed by a mob after they went to a shop to exchange an item. A video of the incident has come online. It shows the two young boys being brutally beaten mercilessly by the mob. According to report by NewsX, the police has stated that it was the victims that “started” the issue. 

Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh

In Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, a 25-year-old doctor was brutally assaulted by a mob on June 30. The attack took place when Dr. Istekhar was returning home from his clinic and stopped to get petrol at a petrol pump when he was attacked. More attackers arrived to beat the doctor in a black car even as a passer-by tried to help. 

Dr. Istekhar has stated that he does not know the attacker’s. Around six people have been reportedly been detained after the incident, one of whom was identified as a “BJP Metropolitan President” based on a sticker on his bike, as per a report by The Observer Post. 

An FIR has been filed against Vasu, Rachit Sharma, Abhishek Chaudhary, Vipin Saini, Ranjit Thakur, Gaurav Rohila, and others. 

Koderma, Jharkhand

As per journalist Meer Faisal, an Imam named Maulana Sahabuddin from Basramo Turkabad in the Barkatha area, was lynched by a mob in Koderma district on July 1st. A resident of Raghuniyadih, Sahabuddin was returning home on his bike when a mob surrounded him and accused him of hitting a woman on the road. After this accusation, they brutally beat him to death, hitting him viciously.

 

News has been arriving that the police is saying that this was not a case of mob lynching, but was an accident. However, the family are saying it was clearly a case of mob lynching and have named one man who is local leader Suraj Das as an accused as well. 

Khordha, Odisha

A mob arrived and forced their way into a house and seized meat from a fridge in the home on June 16. This incident had taken place only shortly after Eid al-Adha and a viral video has surfaced showing a group of cow vigilantes forcefully entering a Muslim household. The mob, chanting slogans of “Jai Shri Ram,” as they entered and raided the family’s refrigerator, seizing all the meat and the refrigerator itself on mere suspicion that it contained beef. 

Bhirbhum, West Bengal

In Noapara, Birbhum, West Bengal, another case took place after Eid, where a Muslim man named Tufan Sekh was brutally assaulted. He was surrounded by a mob and accused of dropping meat near a Hindu temple. After this, he was attacked by the mob and was seriously injuried. As per a report in The Observer Post, he was also tied to a pole for an hour after which the local police later rescued him and got him medical treatment. 

The report also states that the Association for Protection of Civil Rights is looking in to the incident and providing legal support to Tufan and his family. Further, a FIR has been registered against unknown people by the police who have arrested around 9-10 people, though their identities have not been released yet.

A person on ground told the Observer Post, “He was riding his bike with one of our family members, and was on his way to a relative’s house to distribute the sacrificial meat, one of the meat packets must have dropped out on the road from the main bag. My brother made a U-turn to retrieve it and was immediately surrounded by local residents. They accused him of deliberately throwing it in front of the Hindu temple to hurt their sentiments. This accusation makes no sense; if it had been his intention, he wouldn’t have returned to search for the missing packet.”

Medak, Telangana

The unrest in Medak began when the management of Minhaj Ul Uloom madrasa in Medak bought cattle to sacrifice ahead of Bakr Eid and a mob came and attacked the madrasa, which left several people injured in the process. The violence also escalated when the mob also went and attacked a nearby hospital where the injured were being treated. The mob, reportedly also pelted stones. The Medak police had arrested BJP figures who reportedly played key roles in the communal violence that erupted in Medak town on June 15. Those detained included BJP Medak district president Gaddam Srinivas, BJP Medak town president M. Nayam Prasad, the BJYM president, and seven others. Medak BJP MP Raghunandan Rao also appeared in court on June 20 for the cow vigilantes allegedly involved in the violence.

Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh

In the early hours of June 12, an Imam named Maulana Akram was shot dead by unidentified people in Bhainsia village, Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh. Akram who has been a resident of Rampur district, had been supervising the Badi Masjid in the village for the past 15 years. 

Police reported that he suffered a bullet injury to his chest. Villagers mentioned that Akram had no known enemies, and after receiving the information, the police arrived at the scene and found a 312-bore pistol nearby. Superintendent of Police Akhilesh Bhadoria has told the media that they have started investigating.

Akram is survived by his wife and six children. According to sources, he was sleeping when he received a phone call at 4 am. After stepping outside, he was shot by an unknown person and died on the spot. The attacker then fled the scene.

Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh

As per a report in Maktoob Media, on June 12, Christian families in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh, were reportedly attacked by a Hindutva mob. They were also given an ultimatum to denounce their religion within 10 days.

 The violent incident took place in Bade Paroda village, under Badanji Police Station. Three victims were hospitalised after the incident. 

As per the report in Maktoob Media, the lawyer of the injured has stated that all the attacks happening in the area since 2023 were aided by local police, and has also been forcing the families to flee their village.

One of the injured suffered a broken leg, according to the lawyer. Since 2023, Bade Paroda has been reportedly a tense area for violence against Christians, with Christian minorities often targeted by violence and intimidation.

Kaithal, Haryana

In Haryana’s Kaithal, a Sikh man was beaten by unknown people who also called him a Khalistani, as per a report in the Times of India. The Haryana Police have so far arrested two people in connection with the assault.

Following the incident on June 10, the Kaithal police created a five-member Special Investigation Team to investigate the incident. The arrested men have been identified as Ishu who is a resident of Singwal village in Jind, and Sunil who is from Shergarh village, according to Superintendent of Police Upasana.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, the Congress, and the Shiromani Akali Dal have all condemned the attack and demanded immediate action against the perpetrators. The police complaint states that the victim was waiting at a railway-level crossing in Kaithal when the incident took place on the evening of June 10.

Meerut, Uttar Pradesh

On June 9, Mohammed Umar Qureshi, a Muslim vendor from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, was attacked by a mob in Bangana town, Himachal Pradesh. Members of the Bajrang Dal, Shiv Sena, and BJP reportedly beat him, stole his money, and forced him to chant Jai Shri Ram. 

Qureshi, who was working as a street vendor, told about the horrifying incident in a video that went viral on social media. He said the attackers asked for his Aadhaar card and permission letter, which he provided, but they still assaulted him despite that. After this he was taken to a closed shop, where 10-15 people continued beating him and looted his belongings.

According to Qureshi, the attack happened because he is Muslim. Furthermore, when he tried to file a complaint at the police station, the police refused to accept it. The attackers also laughed at him and confidently stated that they had the support of the state police and government.

Pune, Maharashtra

In Maharashtra’s Pune, members of the Christian community were thrashed by Bajrang Dal men over the suspicion of religious conversion. The incident reportedly took place in Chikhali village of Pune district, Maharashtra. A video of the incident has been widely circulated and can show the alleged members of the radical Hindutva outfit attacking the victims.

Unnao, Uttar Pradesh

In Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, a Hindutva mob created a huge ruckus on June 7 over a container transporting buffalo meat from West Bengal to Mumbai. They were claiming it was cow meat. Following the uproar, a sample of the meat was sent to a lab for testing, which confirmed that it was indeed buffalo meat. A series of such similar mob vigilante attacks over trucks have taken place over the month. 

Raipur, Chhattisgarh

In Raipur, Chhattisgarh, two Muslim men, Chand Miya and Guddu Khan, were beaten to death reportedly by cow vigilantes on June 6 while transporting buffaloes in a truck. Their bodies were found in the Mahanadi River. A third man, Saddam Khan was also critically injured and receiving treatment in a hospital, only to succumb to his injuries a short while later. 

The incident took place when a group of youths began following it, eventually surrounding it on the Mahanadi Bridge. Reports indicate that the attackers laid spikes on the road to stop the truck, then forcefully pulled out the occupants and assaulted them. In a desperate attempt to escape, one of the victims jumped into the river.

On June 25, it was reported that one Raja Agrawal was arrested in connection with the lynching of three Muslim men. Interestingly, on Facebook, Agrawal described himself reportedly as a leader of BJP’s youth wing, BJP Yuva Morcha.

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