Hindu boy stabbed by Muslim classmate, his family assaults students who complained
Vadodara, Gujarat, India 
1 January, 2024
Case Summary
In Vadodara, a shocking incident unfolded at Jeevan Sadhana School, where a Muslim fourth-grade student stabbed a Hindu classmate during an altercation. After the victim and his friends reported the incident to the principal, the accused student's parents arrived at the school. However, instead of addressing the situation with the principal, they entered a classroom and assaulted the friends of the victim who had complained. This led to outrage among parents and local Hindu organisations, demanding strict action. Bajrang Dal coordinator Prataparao Mohite stated that upon learning of the incident, they rushed to the school but were initially denied access. Eventually, amidst pressure, the school filed a police complaint against the parents of the accused student, leading to their arrest. The Vadodara police are now investigating the matter, reviewing CCTV footage and questioning the victim student. OpIndia contacted the parents of one of the students who were beaten up regarding this whole incident. During the conversation, he said, “When the Muslim student (we are not mentioning the name as the child is a minor) used the blade, my son and his three other friends complained to the principal, then his guardian was called by the school. Then two members of the Muslim student’s family rushed into the school and instead of meeting the principal, entered the classroom straight away.” The parent of the victim student told OpIndia, “Going to the class, the parent asked the kid who stabbed the blade, “Bol tera naam kisne principal ko bataya.” (Tell us, who gave your name to the Principal) They slapped one of my son’s friends and strangled another while they dragged my son to the principal’s office during class.” Following the incident, the victim student accompanied by his friends registered a complaint to the school principal. Later, the parents of the minor student who was accused of stabbing another student came to the school. However, they didn’t approach the principal but rather went straight to the classroom. As per reports, the parents of the minor accused allegedly strangulated one student and thrashed three students who had submitted a complaint to the principal in this matter.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the primary category 'attack not resulting in death' under the secondary category '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. In this case, it is unclear what prompted the Muslim minor to stab the Hindu victim. It is, in fact, entirely possible that the Muslim child did not stab the Hindu student out of religious hostility but over a trivial disagreement. What gives this incident a communal colour, however, is the conduct of the parents of the perpetrator after the violence had taken place. The parents of the Muslim perpetrator entered the school and asked the Muslim student to identify the boys who had complained against him to the principal. Thereafter, the parents of the Muslim boy assaulted the Hindu students who had complained. Such actions are often driven out of religious supremacist views where it is believed that those following Islam are religiously sanctioned to attack non-Muslims. Further, along with the victim himself, even his friends who had complained about the conduct of the Muslim perpetrator was thrashed by the parents, making this case a case of attack based on religious identity.
Victim Details
Total Victim
5
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 5
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 5
Age Group
- Minor 5
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Sources 
