Muslim youths assault Hindu boy over suspicion of dating his Muslim sister
Belgaum, Karnataka, India 
5 January, 2024
Case Summary
In Belagavi, Karnataka, a Hindu boy, Sachin Lamani, 18, and his Muslim cousin, Muskan Patel, 22, were brutally assaulted by a group of intoxicated Muslim youths on January 6, 2024. Mistaken for a couple, the cousins faced violence due to their different religious identities. The attackers, armed with pipes and rods, beat them mercilessly for hours, causing severe injuries. Sachin said, “They asked why a Hindu and a Muslim were sitting together. I told them she was my own aunt’s daughter. They took both of our phones. They snatched away Rs 7,000.” Sachin Lamani is a Dalit Hindu. His father’s sister married a Muslim man, and therefore his cousin is Muslim. The victims were rescued by the police. Eight people were arrested in connection with the case.
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 1
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 0
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 5 to 10
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
