Hindu youths attacked by Muslims, threatened with violence after 'their' government assumes power

Case ID : b45f703 | Location : Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Thu, 9 January, 2025
Case ID : b45f703
location Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India
date 9 January, 2025
Hindu youths attacked by Muslims, threatened with violence after 'their' government assumes power
Attack not resulting in death
Attacked for Hindu identity
Hate speech against Hindus
Violent threats

Case Summary

Hindu youths were attacked by members of the Muslim community in Koeripur Nagar Panchayat, Sultanpur district, Uttar Pradesh. The incident occurred near the Chanda police station area. A First Information Report (FIR) was filed by Jatin, a resident of Arya Nagar Mohalla, who was among the injured. The FIR detailed that Jatin was standing outside his house at 2:00 pm when a large group of Muslim youths, numbering 50-80, gathered unexpectedly near the Goddess Jalpa Temple and launched an unprovoked attack. Jatin suffered serious injuries, along with others, including Mohit Kasera, Sunny Agrahari, Rinku Agrahari, Swayam Agrahari, and Shivin Agrahari, who tried to intervene. The attackers, identified as Mohammad Azam, Sarfaraz, Mohammad Kais, Akif Ahmed, Zaid Rain, and several others, were armed with sticks, swords, iron rods, spears, knives, and hockey sticks. According to the FIR, the group not only assaulted the victims but also hurled threats and abuses, claiming that once their political party, insinuating Samajwadi Party or I.N.D.I. Alliance, assumed power, they would unleash more violence. The complainant also stated that the assailants threatened to slit throats and cut hair, intending to store the hair in a mosque. “The perpetrators threatened that once their government (insinuating Samajwadi Party/I.N.D.I. Alliance) is in power, they will inflict violence upon the other side by slitting their throats and cutting their hair, which will be stored in the mosque,” the complainant quoted the accused as saying. The case was registered under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Chanda Station Officer Ravindra Singh confirmed the situation at the location was under control. Those injured were sent for medical treatment, and police investigations continued. Reports suggested that both the parties had engaged in another scuffle before this.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to as a religiously motivated incident under two prime categories of the tracker. The first is- Attack not resulting in death. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Attacked for Hindu identity. In several cases, Hindus are attacked merely for their Hindu identity without any perceived provocation. A classic example of this category of religiously motivated hate crime is a murder in 2016. 7 ISIS terrorists were convicted for shooting a school principal in Kanpur because they got ‘triggered’ seeing the Kalava on his wrist and tilak that he had put. In this, the Hindu victim had offered no provocation except for his Hindu religious identity. The motivation for the murder was purely religious, driven by religious supremacy. Such cases where Hindus are targeted merely for their religious identity would be documented as a hate crime under this category. The second category under which this case has been placed is- Hate speech against Hindus and within this, the sub-category selected is- Violent threats. Violent threats, explicit, implicit or implied, is the most dangerous form of hate speech since it goes beyond discriminatory and prejudicial language to express the intent of causing harm to an individual or a group of people based on their religious identity and faith. There could be several different kinds of threats that are issued to Hindus based on religious animosity. An explicit threat would mean the direct threat of violence towards an individual Hindu, a group of Hindus or Hindus at large. Physical violence, death threats, threats of destruction of property belonging to Hindus and threats of genocide would mean explicit threats against Hindus for their religious identity. Implicit threats may not be a direct threat but implied through the use of symbols of actions – for example – in the Nupur Sharma case, other than explicit threats, there were also implicit threats when Islamists took to the streets to burn and beat her effigies. It implies that they want to do the same to Nupur Sharma – thereby is considered an implicit threat. Violent threats can be delivered in person, through letters, phone calls, graffiti, or increasingly through social media and other online platforms. It would be important to understand that a threat – explicit or implicit, online or offline – to an individual who happens to be a Hindu does not qualify as a religiously motivated threat. Such a threat, while vile and dangerous, could be owing to non-religious reasons and/or personal animosity. To qualify as a religiously motivated threat, it would need to exhibit an indication that the individual is being targeted for religious reasons and/or owing to his/her religious identity as a Hindu. This incident bears multiple religious markers that categorise it as a religiously motivated hate crime. First, the unprovoked attack by a large group of Muslim youths near the Goddess Jalpa Temple, a sacred Hindu site, signifies religious hostility. The attackers targeted Hindu youths, some of whom were injured while attempting to intervene, and explicitly used threats and slurs referencing religious and communal tensions. Further, the perpetrators threatened that once their government (insinuating Samajwadi Party/I.N.D.I. Alliance) is in power, they will inflict violence upon the other side by slitting their throats and cutting their hair, which will be stored in the mosque. This statement made by the accused, threatening to slit throats and store hair in a mosque, is a particularly striking religious marker, symbolizing an act of violence with religious undertones aimed at intimidating the Hindu community. It is important to mention here that the trigger of the violence is immaterial in this case. The mention of "our government" adds a crucial layer to the religious markers identifying this incident as a hate crime. It implies that a government in power would either be supportive or turn a blind eye to religiously motivated hate crimes against Hindus - that the only element stopping them from attacking Hindus for their religious identity was that they believed the government in power would follow the law and prosecute them for their violence, However, their intent becomes clear when they say that they would attack Hindus with impunity if there were a friendly government that would let their violence go unchecked. Such statements reflect not only hostility toward Hindus but also a calculated reliance on political circumstances to enable or shield their actions. It highlights the deep-seated animosity harboured by the attackers toward the Hindu community. For all the above reasons, this case has been added to the tracker.

Victim Details

Total Victim

6

Deceased

0


Gender

  • Male 6
  • Female 0
  • Third Gender 0
  • Unknown 0

Caste

  • SC/ST 0
  • OBC 0
  • General 6
  • Unknown 0

Age Group

  • Minor 0
  • Adult 0
  • Senior Citizen 0
  • Unknown 6
Case Status Background
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Case Status


Complaint registered

Case Status Background
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Perpetrators Details

Perpetrators


Muslim Extremists

Perpetrators Range


From 5 to 10

Perpetrators Gender


male

Case Details SVG
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