Hindu street hawker lynched by Muslim mob, right after the mob beat up another Hindu over Taziya procession donations

Case ID : e97a190 | Location : North West Delhi, Delhi, India | Date of Incident : Wed, 19 July, 2023

Case ID : e97a190

North West Delhi, Delhi, India

19 July, 2023

Hindu street hawker lynched by Muslim mob, right after the mob beat up another Hindu over Taziya procession donations

Attack resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Communal clash/attack

Case Summary

On the night of Thursday, July 20, 2023, in Jahangirpuri’s C Block area, a Hindu hawker named Ram Vilas was brutally murdered by an Muslim mob, and others were injured as stones were pelted in the vicinity. Police swiftly responded to the communal clash, dispatching a large contingent to prevent the situation from escalating in the sensitive Jahangirpuri neighborhood of Delhi. Ram Vilas, a street vendor, engaged in a dispute with local Muslims over the placement of his onion cart on the street. When he resisted their demands to move it, the Muslim youths violently assaulted him, joined by others from their community. Despite pleas from his wife, Ram Vilas was relentlessly beaten until he bled profusely and collapsed. Rushed to Babu Jagjivan Ram Hospital by local Hindus, he was declared dead upon arrival. Prior to the attack on Ram Vilas, Muslim youths clashed with a Hindu resident during fundraising for a Tazia procession. Soon after coming face to face, members of the Muslim and Hindu communities began throwing stones at one another. Ram Vilas' grieving wife recounted how her innocent husband, merely selling onions, became a victim of Islamist fury on that tragic night. prior to assaulting Ram Vilas, the Muslim youths had gotten into a brawl with some members of the Hindu community. The brawl soon turned into a full-fledged communal attack with stones being pelted from both sides. Several people were left injured in this incident. According to the authorities, it all began when some Muslim youths got into a fight with a Hindu resident named Sanjay when they were raising money for a Tazia procession. The Muslim youths began hitting Sanjay as the argument got heated. Some Hindu youngsters rushed to Sanjay’s defence after spotting the Muslim youths attacking him. Within no time, the Muslim youths were also joined by several other people of their community. Soon after coming face to face, members of the Muslim and Hindu communities began throwing stones at one another, and the incident which started with a small altercation culminated into a full-fledged communal fight. The incident left many hurt. Reportedly, it was after this incident, that a group of infuriated Muslim youths approached Ram Vilas and killed him after he refused to give in to their demands.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the primary category "Attack resulting in death" under two separate sub-categories. The first sub-category this case has been added to is 'communal clash'. 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 a religious procession 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, cases where the attack led to the death of the Hindu victim/s would be documented. The second sub-category this case has been added to 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, cases where the attack led to the death of the Hindu victim/s would be documented. In this case, there are two separate elements that prove that the murder of the Hindu victim was motivated by religious hostility. First, the conflict between Hindus and Muslims started when the Muslims were collecting donation for their religious procession. Sanjay, the Hindu victim in the first instance, was beaten up by the Muslim mob. This escalated into a communal clash between communities. It was during this communal clash that the Muslim mob then approached Ram Vilas and asked him to move his cart from the area. When Ram Vilas refused, the Muslim mob lynched him. It is evident from the details of the case that the first victim, Sanjay, was beaten up by the Muslim mob owing to religious motivations while the Muslim mob was collecting donations for their festival. Thereafter, it was right after the communal violence where the Muslims had initiated the violence, that Ram Vilas was lynched as an expression of ire against the local Hindu population of the area. It is pertinent to note that Jahangirpuri is an area notorious for Muslim mobs attacking Hindus. Earlier, in Jahangirpuri, Muslim mobs had pelted stones and attacked Hindus devotees during a religious procession as well. With a substantial Muslim population, the area has repeatedly seen communal strife initiated by Muslim extremists against Hindus. With the religious animosity and hostility being evidence from the details of the case, it is being added to the hate crime database.