Muslim men slash Hindu Priest's throat outside Faridabad's Kali Mata Temple, chant Sar Tan Se Juda slogans

Case ID : 0b6726d | Location : Faridabad, Haryana, India | Date of Incident : Thu, 27 June, 2024

Case ID : 0b6726d

Faridabad, Haryana, India

27 June, 2024

Muslim men slash Hindu Priest's throat outside Faridabad's Kali Mata Temple, chant Sar Tan Se Juda slogans

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Hate speech against Hindus

Violent threats

Case Summary

Ravi Bhagat, a young priest at the Kali Mata Temple in Faridabad was brutally assaulted and had his throat slashed by assailants identified as Iqbal, Mehtab, and their accomplices. The attack occurred outside the temple in Janata Colony in the Mujesar Police Station area. During the assault, the attackers chanted “Sar Tan Se Juda” slogans. Bhagat was taken to the hospital in critical condition after losing a significant amount of blood. The attack happened while Bhagat was sleeping outside the temple. His 5-year-old daughter, who was nearby, woke up and screamed, alerting nearby residents and causing the attackers to flee. A case has been registered, and the police are investigating all possible motives. The suspects absconded, and police raids are ongoing to locate them. Additional police forces were deployed in the area to maintain order.

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 case, a Hindu priest was attacked by Islamists without any specific reason. It should be mentioned that the violent assault on the Hindu priest occurred while he was asleep. Consequently, it is safe to conclude that the victim's religious identity was the sole possible catalyst for the attack. Such attacks are often carried out as a strategy of establishing authority and causing terror among the entire community since religious leaders are considered symbolic representatives of their communities. An unwarranted assault on a Hindu priest serves as a reflection of the religious intolerance and the hate the perpetrator harbours towards Hinduism. Given that the fundamental motivation behind these actions is contempt for the Hindu religion, this instance has been added to the tracker under the following category.