Tribal woman raped and assaulted by Muslim auto driver
Asifabad, Telangana, India 
30 August, 2024
Case Summary
In Telangana’s Asifabad district, a 45-year-old woman from the ST Gond community in Devuguda village was sexually assaulted by auto-rickshaw driver, Sheikh Makhdhoom on August 31, 2024. When she raised an alarm, he beat her with a stick and left her unconscious by the roadside, intending to kill her. On September 1, the woman’s younger brother filed a complaint at Sirpur U Police Station, leading to a case being registered under the SC/ST Act for attempted rape and murder. DSP Sadayya Panthati took charge of the investigation and arrested the accused driver. In Jainoor town, Asifabad district, communal tensions escalated as an enraged mob attacked and set fire to commercial establishments. Around 5,000 people gathered in Jainoor as part of a bandh called by various tribal organisations condemning the crime. The mob set commercial buildings ablaze and pelted stones at religious structures. Tribal rights organisations also staged a rasta roko in Jainoor, demanding the death penalty for the accused.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
There is a strong suspicion in this case that the woman was targeted because of her religious identity. The suspicions arise also from the fact that there was communal tension after the heinous crime with tribal organisations and Muslims coming face to face. However, there is a lack of religious marker from the information publicly available in the case. It is entirely possible that the victim was selected not on the basis of her religious identity but it was a crime of opportunity. Owing to the lack of indication, like identity based slurs, pattern etc, which would prove that the victim was profiled on the basis of her religious identity, this case is being added to the undecided database. If more information emerges, it would be added to the hate crime database.
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
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
