Muslim mob assaults Hindu man for giving a lift to Muslim classmate
Shimoga, Karnataka, India 
27 May, 2023
Case Summary
On May 28, 2023, in Bhadravathi area, Shivamogga, Karnataka, a Hindu man was attacked by a mob of Islamists for dropping his Muslim classmate home. The victim Vinay Kumar, a resident of Visvesvaraya Nagar, and the Muslim girl hailing from Qalandar Nagar, studied together at the Paramedical College. On the day of the incident, the girl student asked Vinay Kumar for a lift back home as her sister had met with an accident the previous day. When the 20-year-old Hindu boy was returning after dropping the girl, a group of frenzied Islamists accosted Vinay Kumar near Zhandakatte. They asked him his name and his motive behind giving the Muslim girl a lift. Suddenly, the Muslim mob launched an attack on the Hindu boy. When his two friends, Abhi and Yeshwanth, arrived at the scene after hearing about the assault, the mob attacked them as well. Police registered a case and arrested four accused, while searching for another.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
There have been several cases documented of Hindu men/boys being attacked specifically by Muslim groups/mobs for merely 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. Just as in this case as well. The Muslim mob specifically asked the victim his name, to confirm his religious identity. Once they were convinced that the youth was a Hindu, they launched a vicious attack on him.
Victim Details
Total Victim
3
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 3
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 3
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 3
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
