Muslim man spits on food at eatery, Islamists subvert the truth, mislabel perpetrator as Hindu instead
Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, India 
24 September, 2024
Case Summary
On September 25th, a video surfaced from Tittiri town, Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, showing an individual named Shehzad spitting on rotis (flatbread) before placing them in the oven to cook. The video quickly went viral online, sparking outrage. The person recording the incident from a car criticized Hindus, claiming that contaminated food was being served at a Hindu-run hotel, as the establishment’s name was ‘Naresh Chicken.’ However, after police investigation, it was revealed that Shehzad, an employee at the hotel, was the one spitting on the food. When the video came to the owner’s attention, he confronted Shehzad, who then misbehaved with the owner. Shehzad was subsequently arrested for his actions. The video was shared by several Islamists, falsely accusing the Hindu-run hotel of serving contaminated food. In the footage, Shehzad was seen spitting three times on the rotis. Despite the false claims, it was later confirmed that Shehzad, not the hotel owner, was responsible for the incident. A journalist, Sadaf Afreen, initially spread the claims but later clarified that Shehzad was identified as the culprit.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This particular case has been classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under one prime category of the tracker because of a distinct component that demonstrates the perpetrator's bias against the Hindu faith. Because of the case's specifics, it has been placed under the prime category: Hate speech against Hindus and to narrow down the search further we have chosen the sub-category 'anti-Hindu subversion and prejudice' under this core category. Further, one tertiary category named 'Mislabelling/Misrepresentation of perpetrator's religion as Hindu' has also been selected here to break down the case. 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. In this case, the incident involving Shehzad spitting on rotis in a Hindu-run establishment was initially misrepresented to frame the Hindu community in a negative light. Mislabelling or misrepresenting the perpetrator's religion as Hindu, when in fact it was Shehzad, a Muslim, who committed the act, demonstrates a clear bias against the Hindu community. In this case, Islamists mislabelled or misrepresented the perpetrator's religion as Hindu, which directly stemmed from a bias against the Hindu community. The initial claims falsely suggested that a Hindu-run establishment was responsible for serving contaminated food, fueling outrage and reinforcing negative stereotypes about Hindus. This misrepresentation served to paint Hindus in a bad light, despite the fact that it was Shehzad, a Muslim employee, who was actually responsible for spitting on the food. This deliberate mislabelling reflects a targeted effort to defame the Hindu community by spreading false narratives and aligns with the broader scope of hate crimes that aim to marginalise or vilify a specific religious community. Since such targeted attacks can only stem from deep-seated animosity against Hindus and their faith, this case has been added to the tracker.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
N/A
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
