Hindu boy attacked over false accusation of blasphemy, Muslim mob assaults him, pelts stones at army personnel in Bangladesh

Case ID : 147d3e1 | Location : Faridpur District, Bangladesh | Date of Incident : Sun, 27 October, 2024

Case ID : 147d3e1

Faridpur District, Bangladesh

27 October, 2024

Hindu boy attacked over false accusation of blasphemy, Muslim mob assaults him, pelts stones at army personnel in Bangladesh

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked over 'Blasphemy'

Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

At Kadirdi Degree College in Boalmari, Faridpur, a Muslim mob accused a Hindu student, Hridoy Pal, of committing blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad. The incident began after madrassa students and local Muslims claimed that Hridoy, a Class XI student, had made a derogatory Facebook post. Hridoy was summoned to the principal’s office, where he denied the accusations, explaining that he did not own a mobile phone and that the alleged post was from a hacked account that had been compromised two years ago. Despite his explanation, the mob, consisting of madrassa students and local Muslims, gathered outside the college, demanding Hridoy be handed over to them. The mob vandalised property, including motorcycles, and surrounded the principal’s office. As the situation escalated, police and local political leaders attempted to diffuse the tensions but were unsuccessful in calming the enraged crowd. The army was eventually called in to prevent further violence. They took Hridoy into custody to ensure his safety. However, videos from the incident surfaced online, showing Hridoy blindfolded and forced to crawl on all fours while being slapped and assaulted by members of the mob. An army official was also seen striking him with a stick. As the army personnel attempted to transport Hridoy to their camp, they faced further attacks from the mob, which hurled stones and shoes at them.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category of- Attack not resulting in death, within which the sub-category selected is- Attacked over 'blasphemy'. 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. The Muslim mob, here, accused Hridoy Pal, a Hindu student, of committing blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad based on an alleged derogatory Facebook post. Despite Hridoy's clear explanation that he did not own a mobile phone and that the post in question came from a hacked account two years ago, the mob, composed of madrassa students and local Muslims, refused to accept his denial. The mob's actions quickly escalated, leading to property vandalism and an intense standoff at the college. Despite efforts by the police and local political figures to mediate, the situation spiralled out of control. Videos surfaced showing the student blindfolded, forced to crawl on all fours, and brutally assaulted by the mob. As seen in several cases, this law is often used as a tool of oppression and violence, leading to false accusations, mob justice, and social ostracisation of Hindus. This law, which is sparingly used in Muslim-majority countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh to attack minority Hindus residing there, has become increasingly common in India too, where bloodthirsty Islamists often twist and use these laws to settle their scores with Hindus. The misuse of blasphemy laws against Hindus is often motivated by religious prejudice. Hindus are targeted because of their religious identity. Here too, the Hindu youth was attacked under false accusation of blasphemy. This makes the case a clear act of religious intolerance and hatred, which is why it has been included in the hate tracker.