Cold-blooded murder of Hindu youth in Bahraich justified by left-leaning news outlet, blames Hindus for violence
Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, India 
14 October, 2024
Case Summary
An anti-Hindu narrative was circulated by the leftist news outlet Newslaundry. It attempted to justify the cold-blooded murder of a Hindu youth, Ram Gopal Mishra, by a Muslim mob, while shifting the blame onto Hindus for the violence unleashed by Muslim attackers. In Uttar Pradesh, on 13th October 2024, Ram Gopal Mishra was brutally murdered by a Muslim mob. He had taken part in a Durga idol immersion procession, during which songs such as “Tel laga lo Dabur ka, naam mita do Babur ka” and “Pakistan teri nani mar gayi” were played. Following this, local Muslims took offence, responded with abuse, and then resorted to violence. The deceased victim, Mishra, had also allegedly removed a green Islamic flag and replaced it with a saffron flag. Subsequently, the Muslim mob, led by Abdul Hameed and his sons, Sarfaraz and Faheem, dragged the victim Ram Gopal Mishra into a house, tortured him, and shot him multiple times at point-blank range. Instead of condemning the brutality and communal violence against Hindus, Newslaundry, through its reporter Avdhesh Kumar, attempted to justify the killing. Its coverage emphasised the procession songs as a supposed provocation while downplaying the horrific murder of the Hindu victim itself. Videos of this 'ground report' were widely circulated by Muslims and their sympathisers on social media to further the claim that Mishra’s actions caused his own death, shifting blame onto the Hindu community and the deceased Hindu victim. Critics pointed out the deep bias in such reporting, asking why references to the Mughal invader Babur or to Pakistan should offend Indian Muslims, whose forefathers were themselves Hindus. They stressed that the removal of a green flag or any ''provocative'' songs did not justify mob violence and cold-blooded murder of the Hindu victim by the Muslim mob.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Hate Speech against Hindus. The subcategory selected is- Anti-Hindu subversion and prejudice. The tertiary category selected is- Anti-Hindu fake news or downplaying. Hate speech is defined as any speech, gesture, conduct, writing, or display that is prejudicial against a specific individual and/or group of people, which is leading to or may lead to violence, prejudicial action or hate against that individual and/or group. Media plays a specific and overarching reach in perpetuating prejudicial attitudes towards a community owing to unfair, untrue coverage and/or misrepresentation/misinterpretation, selective coverage and/or omission of facts of/pertaining to issues affecting a specific religious group. This type of bias can dehumanise the victim group, making it easier for others to justify harmful actions against them, which aligns with the objectives of hate speech laws aimed at preventing such harm. It is often observed that the media takes a prejudicial stand against the Hindu community driven by their need to shield the aggressor community which happens to be a numeric minority, however, is the one perpetrating violence against Hindus. For example, the media is often quick to contextualise religiously motivated crimes against Hindus, omit or misrepresent facts that point towards religiously motivated hate crimes, justify and/or downplay religiously motivated hate crimes or simply present fake news to stereotype Hindus. Such media bias leads to the denial of persecution and is often used to dehumanise Hindus, leading to justification for violence against them. For example, the media covered several fake allegations of Hindus targeting Muslims and forcing them to chant Jai Shree Ram. Most of these cases were proved false and fabricated after police investigation. These fake news reports were subsequently never retracted or clarified. Such fake news led to the justification of violence and dehumanisation of Hindus based on the argument that since Hindus targeted Muslims and forced them to chant Jai Shree Ram, the dehumanisation of Hindus and violence against them was par for the course and merely a retaliation. Such media bias leads to prejudicial portrayal of Hindus and offers a justification for violence against them and therefore, is considered hate speech under this category. The most disturbing aspect of Ram Gopal Mishra’s murder was not just the brutality of the Muslim mob but the way the leftist outlet Newslaundry chose to frame it. Instead of condemning the religiously motivated killing outright, its report attempted to justify the violence by blaming the deceased victim, Mishra, and the Hindu community itself. This is not journalism; it is a form of hate propaganda against Hindus. Newslaundry argued that the songs played during the Durga immersion procession somehow ‘provoked’ Muslims into violence. But since when does a song about Babur, a medieval Islamic tyrant, justify murdering an Indian Hindu youth? By suggesting that such songs ''provoked'' Muslims, the Newslaundry excused violence committed by the Muslim perpetrators. The outlet flipped the crime on its head—turning the Hindu victims into the accused while painting the Muslim killers as the wronged party. This narrative erased the agency of the Muslim perpetrators and reinforced the dangerous idea that Hindus invite violence upon themselves simply for asserting their cultural or religious identity. By blaming the Hindu community for violence inflicted upon them, Newslaundry’s reportage became a textbook example of religiously motivated hate speech—rooted in prejudice against Hindus, steeped in hostility, and complicit in normalising Islamist violence. It reduced a hate crime against a Hindu youth and the Hindu community into a story of supposed Hindu aggression, silencing the victim while shielding the Muslim perpetrators. Such acts by the Newslaundry are rooted in animosity and bias against Hindus and their faith. Given that this case meets the parameters of a religiously motivated hate speech, it is being added to the hate crime database.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 1
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 1
- Unknown 0
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Others
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
