Hindus protest against derogatory Facebook post on ISKCON and Sanatan Dharma by Muslim trader, Police and army take the Muslim trader in safe custody and attack Hindus instead
Chittagong District, Bangladesh 
4 November, 2024
Case Summary
On November 5, 2024, in Hazari Goli, Chittagong, Bangladesh, the Hindu community faced an aggressive response from police and law enforcement authorities. The incident followed a protest by local Hindus against a Muslim trader, Osman Mollah, who made derogatory remarks about ISKCON and Sanatan Dharma. Rather than addressing the allegations against Mollah, the authorities placed him under "safe custody" and targeted the protesting Hindus. Police and army officials were seen attacking the community, with at least five Hindus injured and around 30 detained. In an attempt to justify their actions, law enforcement claimed the Hindus had attacked them with bricks and acid. Disturbing visuals emerged showing the authorities destroying CCTV footage to erase evidence of their actions. The violence continued into the following night, with residents documenting the ongoing police-army crackdown on the Hindu community.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been documented as a religious hate crime because the details clearly show that the offender had a bias against the Hindu faith and that the offence was performed in conjunction with that bias. Based on the case details, it has been added under two prime categories of the tracker. The first category under which the case has been placed is- Attack not resulting in death and within this, the sub-category selected is- Attacked for opposing radicals/or trying to save victim from radicals. 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 second category selected here is- Hate speech against Hindus. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith. Anti-Hindu slurs and the deliberate mocking of the Hindu faith owing to religious animosity involve the usage of derogatory terms, stereotypes, or offensive references to religious practices, symbols, or figures. One of the common anti-Hindu slurs used against Hindus is “cow-worshipper” and “cow piss drinker”. The intention of using this term is to demean and mock Hindus as a group and their religious beliefs since Hindus consider the cow holy. Additionally, some symbols and the slurs attached to them have a historical context that exacerbates the insult, hate, stereotyping, dehumanisation and oppression against Hindus. Cow worship has been used for centuries to denigrate Hindus, insult their faith and oppress Hindus specifically as a religious group. There has been overwhelming documentation about how cow slaughter has been used to persecute Hindus with cow meat being thrown in temples and places of worship. There has also been overwhelming documentation where cow meat (beef) has been force-fed to Hindus to either forcefully convert them to Islam or denigrate their faith. Apart from cow worship, the Swastika – which holds deep religious significance for the Hindus – has also been misinterpreted and distorted to use as a slur against Hindus. Similarly, the worship of the Shivling has been used by supremacist ideologies and religions to denigrate Hindus owing to religious animosity. Such slurs and denigration stem out of inherent animosity and hate towards Hindus and their faith, therefore, it is categorised as hate speech targeted at Hindus specifically owing to their religious identity. The incident in Hazari Goli, Chittagong, has been classified as a religiously motivated hate crime due to several key factors that reflect deep animosity toward the Hindu community. The derogatory remarks made by the Muslim trader, Osman Mollah, targeted ISKCON and Sanatan Dharma, invoking anti-Hindu slurs and mocking the Hindu faith. This provoked a protest from the local Hindus, who gathered to express their anger and demand accountability. Instead of addressing the trader's offensive behaviour, law enforcement authorities took Mollah into protective custody, essentially shielding him from any legal consequences. The situation escalated when police and army officials launched an attack on the protesting Hindus, injuring at least five and detaining around 30 individuals. The use of force, including baton charges and the destruction of CCTV evidence, not only demonstrates the authorities' blatant disregard for the rights of the Hindu community but also reveals an underlying hostility toward Hindus, particularly those opposing radical actions. The targeting of the Hindu community for merely protesting against anti-Hindu slurs further underscores the religiously motivated nature of the assault, marking it as an act of retaliation against those who stood up to the radicals, reinforcing the religious animus driving this attack.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Others
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
