Muslim mob attacks and attempts to burn Hindu trader's shop near Ram temple in Bharuch

Case ID : 388c058 | Location : Bharuch, Gujarat, India | Date of Incident : Sat, 20 April, 2024

Case ID : 388c058

Bharuch, Gujarat, India

20 April, 2024

Muslim mob attacks and attempts to burn Hindu trader's shop near Ram temple in Bharuch

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

A Hindu businessman in Ochchan village, Bharuch district, Gujarat, was attacked by a Muslim mob near the Ram temple. The victim, Kishan Kumawat, and his wife sustained injuries in the incident. Abdul Ahmad Patel's sons instigated the attack after being asked to leave Kishan's shop for their abusive behaviour. When Kishan intervened, a group of 15-20 people, including Abdul, attacked him, attempting to burn down his shop. Kishan managed to escape to a neighbour's house. The sarpanch, Dharmendrasingh Rana, also intervened but was attacked as well. Police arrested 11 individuals, including Abdul Ahmad Patel and his children, and filed an FIR under various IPC sections. The attackers were heard shouting threats like "Hit them, burn Kafirs to death."

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, the Muslim mob started the assault against the Hindu shopkeeper when the latter objected to the former's abusive behaviour. The Hindu man was viciously attacked by the perpetrators. The Hindu victim was mobbed and thrashed by the Muslim crowd that quickly assembled. The rest of the throng hurled stones at a business near the temple. Additionally, there was an attempt to set the victim's shop on fire. The victim was repeatedly called a "kafir” during the attack, a derogatory connotation used by Muslims to express contempt, hatred, or disdain for any non-believer in Islam, particularly Hindus. It's crucial to remember that the shopkeeper's innocuous request set off the offender to such an extent that he was prepared to set fire to his shop. The trigger for the attack was obviously the religious identity of the shopkeeper, who was a Hindu. 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.