Hindu student in Bangladesh's University thrashed by Muslim mob over allegations of 'blasphemy’

Case ID : 0b66c6c | Location : Gopalganj District, Bangladesh | Date of Incident : Sat, 25 May, 2024

Case ID : 0b66c6c

Gopalganj District, Bangladesh

25 May, 2024

Hindu student in Bangladesh's University thrashed by Muslim mob over allegations of 'blasphemy’

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked over 'Blasphemy'

Case Summary

Utsab Kumar Gian, a Hindu student at Bangladesh's Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science and Technology University, was attacked by a Muslim mob over accusations of blasphemy. Allegations surfaced that Utsab had posted a derogatory message about Prophet Muhammad in a social media group, which he later deleted. In response, Muslim students of the university confronted Utsab, beating him severely and pressuring him to confess to mocking the Prophet. Utsab was taken to the proctor's office, where he was coerced into providing a written confession before being assaulted again. He was subsequently handed over to the Gopalganj Sadar police station. Due to the severity of his injuries, Utsab was admitted to hospitals. Meanwhile, the accused demanded strict legal action against him and his expulsion from the university. The police stated that legal action would be taken after Utsab's recovery, while the university's proctor, Md. Kamruzzaman, confirmed the confession and promised disciplinary measures upon the return of the university officials.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

Blasphemy essentially refers to the desecration of anything which is held sacred/holy to a group of people. However, for religious supremacist groups, the elements of ‘blasphemy’ are ever-changing, shifting and expanding – leading to infringement on the rights of other religious groups, freedom of speech and expression, threats and even physical violence. There are instances where blasphemy is also used as a dog whistle to target Hindus owing to intrinsic animosity towards Hinduism. There are several instances where stating truths as mentioned in the non-Hindu doctrine itself has led to unmitigated violence against Hindus. There have also been instances where non-Hindus have themselves created a ‘blasphemous’ situation, like placing a Quran in a temple, to use it as an excuse to attack Hindus. Essentially, Blasphemy charges are often made up and/or are used to shut down any form of criticism of non-Hindu faiths and as a tool to target Hindus. Any physical violence over Blasphemy charges against Hindus are foundationally based on animosity for Hindus and their faith owing to religious supremacist ideologies, therefore, such attacks would be documented as religious motivated hate crimes under this category. In this instance, a Muslim mob attacked a Hindu student after accusing him of blasphemy. They claimed that the Hindu youth posted a derogatory message about Prophet Muhammad in a social media group, which he later deleted. Blasphemy essentially refers to the desecration of anything which is held sacred/holy to a group of people. However, Islamists often twist and use these laws to suit their personal agenda against non-Muslims, as in this case, the perpetrator accused the Hindu of committing blasphemy, though they themselves confirmed that the victim had deleted the post later. In fact, it is also revealed that the Hindu boy was forced to admit to his post after being severely assaulted, and therefore, it is entirely possible that he was coerced into the admission to protect himself. The misuse of blasphemy laws against Hindus is often motivated by religious prejudice and hatred, which is why this case has been included in the hate tracker.