Four Muslim youths attack Hindu man for escorting his Muslim friend's sisters on his bike
Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, India 
19 May, 2023
Case Summary
In Uttar Pradesh's Bijnor district, police arrested four youths identified as Altamas, Mohammad Anas, Fardeen, and Bittu alias Aamir for attacking and abusing a Hindu youth who was escorting his Muslim friend's sisters, home. The accused were part of a group targeting Hindu men accompanying Muslim girls, intending to inform the girls' families. The incident occurred on the Dehradun-Nainital highway on May 20, 2023. Vinod, a resident of Salamatnagar in Afzalgarh, was requested by his Muslim friend to drop off her sisters on his way from Dhampur to Afzalgarh. While on the highway, a group of men on motorcycles chased Vinod and stopped him near Ghosi village. The suspects harassed Vinod and the two Muslim girls, forcing them to remove their niqabs and filming the ordeal. When Vinod protested, the attackers verbally abused and assaulted him. A viral video captured the accused verbally abusing and harassing Vinod, and the two Muslim girls, demanding information. Despite protests from the girls, the accused persisted. Vinod lodged a complaint against the unidentified assailants, leading to the arrest of Mohammad Anas, Fardeen, Altamas, and Aamir.
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.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 1
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 1
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
