Dr Shahnawaz rapes Dalit nurse in Moradabad, hurls casteist slurs, threatens with death, aides Junaid and Mehnaaz help accused
Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, India 
16 August, 2024
Case Summary
In Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh's private hospital, Dr Shahnawaz held a 20-year-old Dalit nurse hostage and sexually assaulted her with the assistance of another nurse Mehnaaz and a ward boy Junaid. All three were arrested by authorities. The incident took place in ABM Hospital located on Thakurdwara-Kashipur Road. Its director Dr Shahnawaz and his wife, both Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAUMS) degree holders run the facility together. The victim nurse was sexually assaulted by Shahnawaz at ABM Hospital after being forcibly taken to his residence by Mehnaaz and Junaid, on the night of August 17. The victim’s father filed a police complaint, revealing that the doctor violated her, used casteist slurs, threatened her life, and even offered her money to stay silent. “You are a worthless Ch*m*r. You people are nothing,” he said. Junaid confiscated her phone to prevent her from calling for help. After the incident, the victim confided in a senior nurse before returning home in a distressed state the following morning. Authorities arrested the doctor, Mehnaaz and Junaid, and a case was registered.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the hate tracker under the prime category- Hate speech against Hindus. Under this, the sub-category chosen is- anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith- Anti-Hindu slurs and the deliberate mocking of the Hindu faith owing to religious animosity involve the usage of derogatory terms, stereotypes, or offensive references to religious practices, symbols, or figures. One of the common anti-Hindu slurs used against Hindus is “cow-worshipper” and “cow piss drinker”. The intention of using this term is to demean and mock Hindus as a group and their religious beliefs since Hindus consider the cow holy. Additionally, some symbols and the slurs attached to them have a historical context that exacerbates the insult, hate, stereotyping, dehumanisation and oppression against Hindus. Cow worship has been used for centuries to denigrate Hindus, insult their faith and oppress Hindus specifically as a religious group. There has been overwhelming documentation about how cow slaughter has been used to persecute Hindus with cow meat being thrown in temples and places of worship. There has also been overwhelming documentation where cow meat (beef) has been force-fed to Hindus to either forcefully convert them to Islam or denigrate their faith. Apart from cow worship, the Swastika – which holds deep religious significance for the Hindus – has also been misinterpreted and distorted to use as a slur against Hindus. Similarly, the worship of the Shivling has been used by supremacist ideologies and religions to denigrate Hindus owing to religious animosity. Such slurs and denigration stem out of inherent animosity and hate towards Hindus and their faith, therefore, it is categorised as hate speech targeted at Hindus specifically owing to their religious identity. Here the accused Shahnawaz along with his accomplices Junaid and Mehnaaz sexually assaulted the Dalit-Hindu woman and threatened her with death. However, the religious motive and hate towards the Hindu woman are indicated by the caste slurs that were hurled at her. It can be argued that a caste-specific slur is aimed at her micro identity of belonging to the Dalit section of the Hindu community and not her Hindu identity itself. However, as far as Abrahamic religions are concerned, the micro identities of caste, region, and language are secondary. It is the religious identity that drives the animosity of the perpetrator against the Hindu victim. In this case, while the accused hurled caste abuses at the victim, the animosity was driven by his animosity towards Hinduism and Hindus. This makes it a religiously motivated hate crime against the victim.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 1
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 1
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 0
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
