Dalit woman repeatedly molested by Muslim man, says crime was driven by her identity

Case ID : 04aec57 | Location : Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Sat, 17 August, 2024

Case ID : 04aec57

Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, India

17 August, 2024

Dalit woman repeatedly molested by Muslim man, says crime was driven by her identity

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

In the Jahangirabad police station area of Bulandshahr, a woman from the Valmiki community filed a complaint with the police on August 18, 2024. The victim reported that while she was out for work in the morning, a man named Raees approached her with bad intentions. He grabbed her and attempted to kiss her. The victim resisted and managed to escape from Raees' clutches, although her clothes were torn in the struggle. In her complaint, the victim stated, "If I was not from the Valmiki community, he (Raees) would not have done such an act with me." She also mentioned that Raees had harassed her in the past and described him as "a very cunning type." The victim expressed hope for strict action from the police. Following her complaint, the police registered an FIR against Raees under Sections 75 and 76 of the Indian Penal Code (BNS) and the SC/ST Act. An investigation is underway.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

In several cases, Hindus are attacked merely for their Hindu identity without any perceived provocation. A classic example of this category of religiously motivated hate crime is a murder in 2016. 7 ISIS terrorists were convicted for shooting a school principal in Kanpur because they got ‘triggered’ seeing the Kalava on his wrist and tilak that he had put. In this, the Hindu victim had offered no provocation except for his Hindu religious identity. The motivation for the murder was purely religious, driven by religious supremacy. Such cases where Hindus are targeted merely for their religious identity would be documented as a hate crime under this category. In this particular case, the woman who was molested belonged to the Valmiki Hindu community. On the face of it, this case could be considered one of molestation independent of religious identity. Here, however, the victim herself attested that she would not have been targeted had she not been from the Valmiki community. When a Hindu woman, regardless of caste, is victimised by a Muslim perpetrator, the underlying animosity is towards the victim's religious identity and not caste identity. For the Muslim perpetrator, the animosity is no different when it comes to a Brahmin victim or a Dalit victim since all such sections belong to the wider Hindu identity. Since this victim herself here as attested that she was targeted over her religious and cultural identity, this case is being categorised as a religiously motivated hate crime where the victim was specifically targeted owing to her Hindu identity.