Muslim mob of 40-50 thrashes Hindu boy for talking to burqa-clad girl

Case ID : 0b671ca | Location : Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India | Date of Incident : Mon, 24 June, 2024

Case ID : 0b671ca

Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India

24 June, 2024

Muslim mob of 40-50 thrashes Hindu boy for talking to burqa-clad girl

Men attacked for being associated with non-Hindu women

Attacked/killed for being associated or suspicion of being associated with Muslim woman

Case Summary

On June 25, Akash, a Hindu youth, was brutally assaulted by a Muslim mob of 40-50 people for talking to a burqa-clad girl in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The incident, captured on video, shows the girl trying to escape while Akash is attacked. The altercation occurred in the Labour colony area near the Shivaji Maharaj Museum when the girl and Akash were spotted talking. The mob, having observed the girl, slapped her, and then assaulted Akash, with more people joining the attack. The girl urged Akash to flee, but he was caught and beaten until locals alerted the police. Officers Nitin Bogate and Nirmala Pardeshi arrived, but the attackers fled. Both Akash and the girl also escaped. The police are seeking them to file a formal complaint, otherwise, a suo-moto complaint will be made to identify and punish the attackers.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

There have been several cases documented of Hindu men/boys being attacked specifically by Muslim groups/mobs for merely being associated or suspicion of being associated or being seen with a Muslim woman in public. In most of such cases, the Hindu man is not in a relationship with the Muslim woman, however, the mob proceeds to threaten and/or assault the Hindu man for merely being associated with the Muslim woman in any capacity. The rise of such crimes stems from a particularly sinister campaign run by several Muslim ideologues and activists. The campaign claims that Hindu men are attempting to ‘lure’ Muslim women into relationships to ensure that Muslim women leave their faith and follow Hinduism. The propaganda has been spearheaded with the help of WhatsApp groups and the extensive use of social media, sans evidence of the same. In many cases, pamphlets were fabricated to lend credence to this campaign. The root of this campaign lies in the fact that several cases of sectarian crimes against Hindu women in relationships with Muslim men have been documented. In such cases, Hindu women have often been forced/pressured to convert to Islam, assaulted, threatened and even murdered owing specifically to their religious identity and their refusal to give up that religious identity to adopt Islam. To delegitimize the suffering of Hindu women when such sectarian crimes are committed against them, the theory of ‘Bhagwa Love Trap’ was floated by sections of the Muslim community. As this theory gained traction, Muslim mobs started targeting Hindu men who were seen with Muslim women. In several such cases, the Hindu man was assaulted merely for offering to drop a Muslim woman in his vehicle or being friends. The differentiating factor between such cases and legitimate cases of Hindu women being targeted while in a relationship with Muslim men is that there is no sectarian violence, and force/pressure to convert. The nature of sectarian violence against Hindu women is not about two adults in a consensual relationship, working together, studying together, or even marrying each other where religious considerations are declared. In this category of crimes, it is pertinent to remember that in none of the cases, there is an element of the Hindu man masking his identity or forced religious conversion. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. The Muslim woman in this instance was not connected to the Hindu man in any manner. The Muslim perpetrators harassed and mistreated him even though he was just talking to her. The Hindu youth was singled out and harassed only by virtue of his religious identity. Since the harassment was obviously motivated by hatred for the victim's faith, this case has been listed as a religiously motivated hate crime in this Hindu hate tracker.