Case Summary

In the Isipur police station area in Bhagalpur, Bihar, a Hindu wedding procession was attacked by a mob of 50 to 60 Muslim men and women. The accused also molested Hindu women and minors who were guests at the event and physically assaulted the entire group present. The jewellery of women, including the bride, was stolen by the attackers. According to media reports, the groom’s father, Rajhans Thakur, filed a police complaint against the Muslim assailants and demanded strict action. The wedding was of a man named Mithilesh Kumar. As per Rajhans Thakur, the procession was heading to Chana Modiya village when the groom stopped at Seemanpur turn to pay obeisance at a temple. Some vehicles in the procession moved towards the village, with Hindu women and girls dancing behind a DJ. At that moment, a group of Muslim men from the village arrived. The groom’s 15-year-old niece was dancing in the procession when a 20-year-old man named Mohammad Mojsham, part of the group, began molesting her and other women. He pulled and tore their clothes. When members of the wedding party protested, Mojsham threw the niece to the ground. Following this, Mojsham’s Muslim companions and about 50 to 60 Muslim villagers, including members of the Ansari family — Mohammad Hakikat Ansari, Mohammad Meraj Ansari, Mohammad Ansar Ansari, Mohammad Rahbar Ansari, Mohammad Hallo Ansari and his wife, Mohammad Ballo Ansari’s wife, Mohammad Mannan Ansari and his wife, and several others — violently assaulted members of the wedding party. The accused Muslims abused and beat the wedding party members, looting their jewellery and other valuables. The groom and the wedding party escaped, but the accused also stole jewellery from vehicles parked nearby, including the bride’s jewellery. Following this, upon police arrival, the Muslim attackers fled. The victims filed a complaint and demanded strict action against the Muslim perpetrators.

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Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Attack not resulting in death. The subcategory selected is- Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim. In several cases, Hindus are attacked for opposing religiously motivated crimes being committed against a fellow Hindu or simply for voicing an opinion opposing radical elements, who either have in the past or continue to persecute Hindus. In such cases, the initial attack against the victim, against which the Hindu was trying to defend the victim, would also need to be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the initial crime itself was religiously motivated and the subsequent crime of attempting to save the victim or speaking against the radical elements ends up inviting a violent attack, it would also be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. The other subcategory selected is- Communal Clash/Attack. Communal clash is a form of collective violence that involves clashes between groups belonging to different religious identities. For a communal clash between Hindus and non-Hindus to qualify as a religiously motivated hate crime, the trigger of the violence itself would have to be anti-Hindu in essence. For example, if there is a Hindu religious procession that comes under attack from a non-Hindu mob and after the initial attack, Hindus retaliate in self-defence, leading to a communal clash between the two religious communities. While at a later stage, both communities are involved in the clash/violence, the initial trigger of the violence was by the non-Hindu mob against the Hindus and therefore, it could safely be termed as an anti-Hindu violence. Further, the trigger would also have to be religiously motivated. In the cited example, the attack by the non-Hindu mob was against religious processions and therefore, can be concluded to be religiously motivated. In some cases, the trigger may be non-religious, however, it develops into religious violence against Hindus at a later stage. In such cases too, the foundational animosity towards Hindus becomes the motivating factor of the crime and therefore, it would be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime against Hindus under this category. In this case, the attack on the Hindu wedding procession in Bhagalpur, Bihar, is a stark example of a clear anti-Hindu hate crime, motivated by religious animosity rather than random or isolated conflict. This violent rampage was carried out by a mob of 50 to 60 Muslim men and women after Hindu guests at the wedding opposed the molestation of a minor Hindu girl and other Hindu women. The attackers tore the women’s clothes, a deliberate, hostile act targeting Hindu females on the basis of their religious identity. The severity and targeted nature of the molestation and intimidation reveal deep-seated religious hostility aimed at instilling fear within the Hindu community. The brazen punishment of those who resisted serves to underline the attackers’ intent to suppress opposition through violence driven by communal hatred. This incident unmistakably represents communal violence, as the Hindu wedding procession was deliberately singled out for a large-scale attack by a coordinated Muslim mob. The sexual assault, stripping, and robbery of Hindu women’s jewellery, alongside the violent assault on the wider group of Hindu guests, points to a premeditated expression of religious enmity. The attackers deliberately targeted this religious and cultural event, violating the sanctity of the wedding procession and aiming to intimidate the Hindu community by demonstrating their vulnerability. Such brutality cannot be interpreted as mere social disturbance; it reflects a planned communal assault steeped in religious animosity towards Hindus. The organised nature of this attack is made clear by the number of assailants involved, with approximately 60 individuals carrying out the violence. This shows it was no spontaneous occurrence, but a coordinated effort to terrorise and subjugate the Hindu community in that area. Sexual violence, theft, and physical abuse were employed as tools of religious intimidation, disrupting the cultural and social practices of the Hindu community, which are integral to their faith and identity. This act was deliberately designed to instil fear and assert dominance, reflecting a broader pattern of religiously motivated hostility against Hindus. In summary, this case is a clear example of religious hatred manifesting in violence targeted specifically at Hindus. The attack on a peaceful wedding procession, the Muslim mob’s targeted molestation and violence against Hindu women and guests, stands as a hate crime driven by communal animosity. Given its clear religious motivation, this case will be added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker, highlighting the ongoing threats faced by Hindu communities from religiously motivated violence and hostility. Disclaimer: In this case, reports state that multiple Hindu guests, including the bride, groom, the groom’s father, and a fifteen-year-old minor girl, were attacked by the Muslim mob. However, the reports do not specify the exact number of people assaulted and only explicitly mention these four individuals. Henceforth, for documenting this case in the tracker, a conservative estimate is used, recording the victim count as '4'. It is important to clarify, however, that several other people were also attacked and are considered victims, even though their names or numbers were not specifically documented in the available reports. This disclaimer ensures accuracy and transparency in reporting and tracking the incident.