Rape threats against Hindu women amidst anti-Hindu Murshidabad violence dismissed by Muslim politician
India 
15 April, 2025
Case Summary
Amidst the widespread anti-Hindu violence in Murshidabad carried out by Muslim mobs, Samajwadi Party leader Tariq Ahmad Lari, a Muslim, laughed and attempted to justify the aggression. He mocked the serious issue of rape threats directed at Hindu women by dismissively referring to them as “BJP workers.” This incident took place during a Republic TV debate, a news debate, on the Murshidabad violence. A video clip of the debate went viral on social media, showing the accused, Tariq Ahmad Lari, laughing while instances of rape threats issued to Hindu women were being discussed. He went further by demeaning the Hindu female victims as mere “BJP workers.” The incident came against the backdrop of large-scale riots, arson, and destruction in Murshidabad district, West Bengal. On 11th April 2025, this Muslim-majority district witnessed severe violence, systematic vandalism, arson, and planned assaults on the Hindu community under the pretext of protests against the newly enacted Waqf (Amendment) Act. Following the conclusion of Jumma Namaz, Muslim mobs went on a violent rampage in Suti and Samserganj, disrupting train services, damaging public infrastructure, and paralysing daily life. The office of the Block Development Officer (BDO) was attacked with stones and sticks, creating an atmosphere of terror. Particularly striking was the deliberate, targeted persecution of Hindus carried out under the facade of political protests. Local accounts further confirmed that Hindu temples were attacked and idols desecrated. Hundreds of Hindus were forced to flee their homes in Murshidabad, driven out by an organised Islamic onslaught that unfolded under the banner of opposition to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2025. The violence had already claimed three lives, leaving the district scarred by deep communal wounds.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of- Hate speech against Hindus. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Denial or mocking of genocide/large-scale persecution. Denial or mocking of genocide/large-scale persecution/ethnic cleansing refers to the act of denying or minimizing the fact of the ethnic cleansing and/or genocide and/or religious persecution of Hindus. This often involves denying the scale, mechanisms, religious intent, or even the occurrence of the ethnic cleansing and/or genocide and/or religious persecution of Hindus. Hate speech of this kind involves the dissemination of falsehoods that deny or distort established historical facts or mock the suffering of Hindus by saying that they deserved the persecution, motivated by Hinduphobia. Denying such atrocities is not only about the denial of facts or rewriting/revising history, but it also delegitimises the religiously motivated persecution of Hindus, the religious hate/motivation/animosity that led to the persecution, and dehumanises Hindus as a religious group. Such denial of ethnic cleansing and/or genocide and/or religious persecution of Hindus not only denies the suffering but also paves the way for future/present atrocities and hate speech, inciting prejudice and violence against Hindus. It also provides a justification for violence by delinking religious animosity from religiously motivated crimes committed against Hindus. Since such denial and/or mocking of genocide/ethnic cleansing/atrocities motivated by religious animosity leads to present and future ramifications of creating more hate speech, violence, dehumanisation and delegitimisation, it would be considered hate speech under this category. In this incident, the remarks made by Tariq Ahmad Lari during a Republic TV debate, where he laughed while discussing the rape threats issued to Hindu women in Murshidabad and dismissed the victims as “BJP workers,” constituted hate speech that mocked and trivialised the persecution faced by Hindus. By treating the trauma and threats faced by Hindu women as a laughing matter and dismissing them based on perceived political affiliations, Lari delegitimised the religiously motivated violence occurring in Murshidabad. This denial and ridicule of the persecution not only stripped the Hindu victims of their suffering but also implicitly justified the aggression, thereby reinforcing a climate of hostility and dehumanisation of the Hindu community. Additionally, Lari's response exemplified a broader trend of anti-Hindu prejudice and dismissal of religiously motivated crimes. By portraying the Hindu victims as political actors rather than acknowledging their vulnerability as a targeted religious group, he contributed to a prejudicial narrative that minimises the seriousness of attacks against Hindus. Such distortion of facts and misrepresentation serve to shift blame, obscure the religious motive behind the violence, and provide cover for Muslim perpetrators. This behaviour facilitates further hate speech and violence by eroding public empathy for Hindu victims and portraying them as unworthy of protection or justice, aligning with patterns of religiously motivated hate crimes. This incident is not an isolated case. Such instances form part of a broader and recurring pattern in which Hindus are attacked for their religious identity, yet the Muslim perpetrators cover it up by branding the Hindu victims as “BJP workers.” This narrative is repeatedly used by anti-Hindu perpetrators and their supporters to whitewash targeted communal violence against Hindus. By framing the violence as a political dispute rather than a religiously motivated crime, the real intent of persecuting Hindus for their faith is concealed. This showcases that the whitewashing of such instances of hate crimes is a result of deep-rooted animosity towards the Hindu community. Since this case meets multiple parameters of a religiously motivated crime, it is being added to the hate crime database. Disclaimer: Social media posts circulating the debate video do not specify the exact date on which the television debate aired. For documentation purposes, 16th April 2025 – the date when the video went viral on social media- is being used as the indicative date of the incident.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
