Muslim youth sends Hindu girl obscene messages, mob of 400 Muslims attack her house after she protests
Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, India 
18 August, 2024
Case Summary
In Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, a Muslim boy named Mohammad Muzammil sent obscene messages and used abusive language towards a Hindu girl on Instagram. Disturbed by this, the girl informed her family. In response, her cousin posted an audio message confronting Muzammil. Following this, a mob of 300-400 Muslims reportedly attacked the Hindu family's home on August 19, 2024, injuring several Hindu youths and women. The attackers also issued threats, warning the Hindu families of a "Bangladesh-like situation," intensifying the communal divide. In protest, about 20 Hindu families from the Sarai Rafi locality in Chandpur displayed "Makan Bikau Hai" (House for Sale) signs on their homes, highlighting their fear and frustration. The police arrested Muzammil and registered cases from both sides. The authorities swiftly deployed a large police force to calm the situation and remove the protest signs.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the hate tracker under the prime category- Attack not resulting in death. Under this, the first sub-category chosen is- Attacked for Hindu identity. 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. The second sub-category under which this case has been placed is- Attacked to induce migration from non-Hindu dominated area. There have been cases where the Hindus living in an area, often with a majority dwelling belonging to non-Hindus or those harbouring animosity towards the Hindu faith, the Hindu residents experience threats and violence. The violence is employed with the aim of making the Hindus leave the area and relocate, so the area could be turned into an exclusive ghetto for adherents of the non-Hindu faith or those who harbor animosity towards the Hindu faith. In several cases, the aim of exodus is explicit. However, in several cases, the demand for exodus of Hindu residents is not explicit, however, violence by non-Hindu residents leaves the Hindu residents no option but to leave the area, thereby, turning the area into an exclusive ghetto of non-Hindu residents. In such cases, there are instances violence against the Hindu residents explicitly. For example, in the Hauz Qazi case of 2019, the Muslim residents claimed that mob violence against the Hindu residents had been triggered by a parking dispute. However, the violence did turn religious with a temple being desecrated and was directed specifically against the Hindu residents. The Hindu residents of the area were clear that the violence was religiously motivated and one of the motives was to affect an exodus of the Hindu residents. In such cases, even though the perpetrators have not explicitly expressed the aim of affecting exodus, the given circumstances and violence and precedent point to the intention of exodus and therefore would be categorized under this sub-category. Such crimes are religiously motivated and therefore are hate crimes. In this case, the attack on a Hindu family by a large Muslim mob was clearly fueled by religious animosity, despite the immediate trigger being the altercation following Mohammad Muzammil’s obscene messages to a Hindu girl on Instagram. The scale and intensity of the mob's retaliation—300 to 400 individuals attacking the Hindu family's home, injuring youths and women—demonstrates that the incident was not merely about the initial conflict but was driven by deeper communal tensions. The mob’s threats, including references to a "Bangladesh-like situation," where Hindus have faced systematic persecution, indicate that the attack was motivated by a broader hostility toward the Hindu community. This incident goes beyond a personal dispute and highlights a pattern of targeting Hindus based on their religious identity. The fact that the mob invoked the violent persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh reveals that their actions were not isolated but part of a larger context of religious hate. The Hindu families' decision to put up "Makan Bikau Hai" (House for Sale) signs shows their fear of being systematically targeted and their sense of vulnerability in the face of such violence. This attack underscores the hate-driven targeting of Hindus based on their faith, making it a religiously motivated hate crime.
Case Status
Complaint registered
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
