Muslim man attacks Hindu bus conductor over ‘blasphemy’

Case ID : ac55db0 | Location : Prayagraj (Allahabad), Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Fri, 24 November, 2023

Case ID : ac55db0

Prayagraj (Allahabad), Uttar Pradesh, India

24 November, 2023

Muslim man attacks Hindu bus conductor over ‘blasphemy’

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked over 'Blasphemy'

Case Summary

On November 25th, a man named Lareb Hashmi attacked a 24-year-old Hindu bus conductor, Harikesh Vishwakarma, with a cleaver in Prayagraj city, Uttar Pradesh, accusing him of blasphemy. Vishwakarma sustained severe injuries to his neck and body in the attack, which stemmed from a ticket fare dispute. Following the assault, Hashmi fled the scene and sought refuge in a nearby college campus, while Vishwakarma was rushed to the hospital for treatment. Hashmi recorded a video inside the college campus, justifying his actions against the bus conductor. “(The bus conductor) was abusing Muslims. So I attacked him with a cleaver. He will not survive. He will be dead soon. From India to France, whoever insults our Prophet will be exterminated,” the Islamist was heard saying. “We are ready to die for you and go to jail, O Prophet Muhammad. Dear Muslims, rise about this world’s materialism and be ready to sacrifice your life for the Prophet,” Lareb Hashmi went on to abuse the victim with the choicest of expletives. The Islamist chanted ‘Allah hu Akbar, and ‘La ilaha illallah muhammadur rasulullah” as he went about justifying the brutal attack on the Hindu bus conductor. Following the incident, the accused was arrested by the police and a case under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code was registered.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

Blasphemy essentially refers to the desecration of anything which is held sacred/holy to a group of people. However, for religious supremacist groups, the elements of ‘blasphemy’ are ever-changing, shifting and expanding – leading to infringement on the rights of other religious groups, freedom of speech and expression, threats and even physical violence. There are instances where blasphemy is also used as a dog whistle to target Hindus owing to intrinsic animosity towards Hinduism. There are several instances where stating truths as mentioned in the non-Hindu doctrine itself has led to unmitigated violence against Hindus. There have also been instances where non-Hindus have themselves created a ‘blasphemous’ situation, like placing a Quran in a temple, to use it as an excuse to attack Hindus. Essentially, Blasphemy charges are often made up and/or are used to shut down any form of criticism of non-Hindu faiths and as a tool to target Hindus. Any physical violence over Blasphemy charges against Hindus are foundationally based on animosity for Hindus and their faith owing to religious supremacist ideologies, therefore, such attacks would be documented as religious motivated hate crimes under this category. In this instance, the Islamist attacked the Hindu bus conductor after accusing him of blasphemy. He claimed that the Hindu man was abusing Muslims. Blasphemy essentially refers to the desecration of anything which is held sacred/holy to a group of people. However, Islamists often twist and use these laws to suit their personal agenda against non-Muslims, as in this case, the perpetrator accused the Hindu of committing blasphemy, though he did not do or say anything showing disrespect, irreverence, or contempt for something considered sacred or holy in Islam. The misuse of blasphemy laws against Hindus is often motivated by religious prejudice and hatred, which is why this case has been included in the hate tracker.