Hindu photographer attacked by Muslim goons for sitting with Muslim female colleague

Case ID : 59549de | Location : Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Mon, 16 December, 2024
Case ID : 59549de
location Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
date 16 December, 2024
Hindu photographer attacked by Muslim goons for sitting with Muslim female colleague
Men attacked for being associated with non-Hindu women
Attacked/killed for being associated or suspicion of being associated with Muslim woman
Attack not resulting in death
Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

A Hindu photographer, Saurabh Thakur, was assaulted by a group of Muslim men for sitting with a Muslim female friend, a makeup artist, at a cafe. The incident occurred at High Garden Cafe near Medicare Hospital, where Saurabh and his friend were having tea. The attackers, identified as Hussain Khan, Danish Khan, and others, confronted Saurabh, demanded his ID card, and questioned his association with a Muslim girl. Despite Saurabh explaining that they were professional colleagues, the group became aggressive. They forcibly took him down from the fifth floor of the cafe and brutally assaulted him and his friend. The attackers threatened Saurabh, warning him against associating with Muslim women and vowed further violence. Hindu Jagran Manch activists, including Tapan Bhorjar and Vivek Verma, intervened, rescued Saurabh, and took him to the police station. A complaint was registered against the assailants, and CCTV footage helped identify them. The police arrested Hussain, Danish, and two minors, while the search for other suspects remained ongoing.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under two prime categories. The first is- Attack not resulting in death and under this, the sub-category selected is- Attacked for Hindu identity. 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. The second category under which this case has been placed is- Men attacked for being associated with non-Hindu women, within which, the sub-category selected is- Attacked/killed for being associated or suspicion of being associated with Muslim woman. There have been several cases documented of Hindu men/boys being attacked specifically by Muslim groups/mobs for merely being associated or suspicion of being associated or being seen with a Muslim woman in public. In most of such cases, the Hindu man is not in a relationship with the Muslim woman, however, the mob proceeds to threaten and/or assault the Hindu man for merely being associated with the Muslim woman in any capacity. The rise of such crimes stems from a particularly sinister campaign run by several Muslim ideologues and activists. The campaign claims that Hindu men are attempting to ‘lure’ Muslim women into relationships to ensure that Muslim women leave their faith and follow Hinduism. The propaganda has been spearheaded with the help of WhatsApp groups and the extensive use of social media, sans evidence of the same. In many cases, pamphlets were fabricated to lend credence to this campaign. The root of this campaign lies in the fact that several cases of sectarian crimes against Hindu women in relationships with Muslim men have been documented. In such cases, Hindu women have often been forced/pressured to convert to Islam, assaulted, threatened and even murdered owing specifically to their religious identity and their refusal to give up that religious identity to adopt Islam. To delegitimize the suffering of Hindu women when such sectarian crimes are committed against them, the theory of ‘Bhagwa Love Trap’ was floated by sections of the Muslim community. As this theory gained traction, Muslim mobs started targeting Hindu men who were seen with Muslim women. In several such cases, the Hindu man was assaulted merely for offering to drop a Muslim woman in his vehicle or being friends. The differentiating factor between such cases and legitimate cases of Hindu women being targeted while in a relationship with Muslim men is that there is no sectarian violence, and force/pressure to convert. The nature of sectarian violence against Hindu women is not about two adults in a consensual relationship, working together, studying together, or even marrying each other where religious considerations are declared. In this category of crimes, it is pertinent to remember that in none of the cases, there is an element of the Hindu man masking his identity or forced religious conversion. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. In this instance, the Hindu youth was attacked simply for being found sitting with a Muslim woman. Despite the youth explaining to the perpetrators that their relationship was purely professional and devoid of any personal connection, the assailants ignored his explanation, dragged him away, and assaulted him. Notably, the attackers specifically checked the victim's ID card to confirm his religious identity before proceeding with the attack. This act underscores a discriminatory mindset that seeks to target individuals based solely on their religious affiliation, irrespective of the situation. Such incidents highlight the systematic and deliberate nature of religious intolerance, deeply rooted in hatred for Hindus and their faith. Considering these factors, the case has been categorized as a religiously motivated hate crime, driven by the perpetrators' hostility toward the Hindu community and its beliefs. Disclaimer: Although there are more than four perpetrators involved in this case, the report explicitly names two individuals and mentions two other minors. Based on this information, we have considered the total number of perpetrators to be four.

Victim Details

Total Victim

1

Deceased

0


Gender

  • Male 1
  • Female 0
  • Third Gender 0
  • Unknown 0

Caste

  • SC/ST 0
  • OBC 0
  • General 0
  • Unknown 1

Age Group

  • Minor 0
  • Adult 0
  • Senior Citizen 0
  • Unknown 1
Case Status Background
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Case Status


Arrested

Case Status Background
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Perpetrators Details

Perpetrators


Muslim Extremists

Perpetrators Range


From 5 to 10

Perpetrators Gender


male

Case Details SVG
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