Muslim trio dumps cow carcass in Hindu-majority areas to incite communal violence

Case Summary
In Jammu and Kashmir, police arrested three individuals, Mukhtiyar Ahmed, Tariq Hussain, and Arif, for a deliberate attempt to incite communal violence by dumping dead cows in Hindu-majority areas. The suspects, involved in long-term cow smuggling, cruelly transported cows in trucks, leading to fatalities. They disposed of the carcasses in Hindu-dominated areas to provoke tensions. The trio's latest attempt occurred on December 24, 2024, on the Jagti-Rajpur road in Nagrota. Early in the morning, local residents noticed a foul smell emanating from a ditch. Upon investigation, they discovered the decomposing carcasses of a cow and a calf. The incident became a matter of public outrage. Residents and members of Hindu organisations gathered at the site, demanding action against the perpetrators. The police, led by SHO Parvez Sajjad, assured the crowd that the culprits would be apprehended within 24 hours. The police examined CCTV footage from the area. A truck with the registration number 2195 was identified as being involved in the act. Based on this lead, authorities traced the suspects and apprehended them. Mukhtiyar Ahmed was revealed to be a resident of Anantnag in Kashmir, while Tariq Hussain and Arif hailed from the Reasi area of Jammu. During interrogation, the accused admitted to their involvement in the incident, as well as to a similar act two months earlier in the Jagti area. They confessed that their actions were aimed at inciting communal unrest and Hindu-Muslim riots.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added as a religiously motivated crime under two categories of the Hinduphobia tracker. The first is- Attack on Hindu religious representations. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Defiling religious customs. Sanatan Dharma is not a religion of one book, which is to say that while it has religious scriptures that form the central tenets of the faith, there are several traditions followed through thousands of years, mostly passed from generation to generation orally. There are several such customs and traditions that are followed by various Hindus and Hindu sects. Defiling of these traditions and customs is a breach of an individual or group’s religious practices. Such practices can range from dietary restrictions like not eating non-vegetarian food for a certain period of the year, not eating non-vegetarian food at all, not eating beef since the cow is considered holy in Hinduism, the sanctity of religious customs followed in the house (like many ISCKON devotees), etc. Any malicious action leading to the breach of such traditions or defilement of these traditions owing to animosity towards the faith or for the sake of activism stems not only from the lack of faith in the religion itself but also from disregard for the faith of the devotees who follow the customs/traditions and implicit bias against the faith, the tradition itself. Since these specific traditions are central to the faith of the devotees of that specific sect of Hindus, any non-compliance with these traditional rules would be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. The second category under which this case has been placed is- Attack not resulting in death and within 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. Cows are considered holy by Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs alike, and slaughtering them is considered to be a sin. Despite knowing this, the accused purposely slaughtered the cows specifically to hurt Hindu religious sentiments. They then dumped the carcass in Hindu-dominated areas. This is a crime motivated by religious animosity as the purpose here was to hurt and provoke the Hindus. Consequently, this case is categorised as a hate crime and added to the tracker.

Case Status
Arrested

Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male