Viral videos of Saturday’s attack have drawn massive outrage on social media
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – An unruly mob, led by Hindutva leader Pinki Chaudhry, attacked Muslim slum dwellers with heavy sticks and set their jhuggis on fire in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad on Saturday. The Hindutva mob also called the hapless slum dwellers “Bangladeshi”.
Pinky Chaudhary, also known as Bhupendra Tomar, heads the far-right Hindu militant organisation called Hindu Rakshak Dal which enjoys the support of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Headquartered in Ghaziabad, the organisation is active in the western region of Uttar Pradesh and throughout the National Capital Region.
In videos that have gone viral on social media, Chaudhry and his gang can be seen raining blows on the slum dwellers after destroying their jhuggis. A youth is seen trying to protect himself from the blows by putting himself under the tent. However, Chaudhry continues to thrash him with heavy sticks forcing the victim to run for his life. The attackers then turned their attention towards other jhuggis and destroyed them. A few shanties were also set on fire.
The videos show the mob also hurling religious epithets at the victims and calling them “Rohingya” and “Bangladeshi”.
Another video shows Chaudhry brutally assaulting an elderly Muslim man after destroying his jhuggi. The bearded man was not able to stand up as the attackers kept raining blows on him. A man also abuses the victim calling him “Mullah” and hurling other slurs at him.
Talking to the Hindi daily Dainik Bhashkar, Chaudhry claimed that the attacks were retribution for anti-Hindu violence in Bangladesh. He said he had already given an ultimatum to the government to work towards stopping the attacks in Bangladesh.
The viral videos of Saturday’s attack have drawn massive outrage on social media.
Congress spokesperson Lavanya Ballal Jain wondered how the Hindu Raksha Dal members got the extra-judicial power to attack the people.
“So Hindu Raksha Dal has extra judiciary powers? Who bestowed them with these powers? BJP or Modi? Are they beating up people because @AmitShah has failed completely? If @MrSinha_’s claim is true, why did the Modi-led government fail to control the illegal entry into the country? Why are Modi, Amit Shah and co such incompetent people?” she posted on social media.
Prominent rights activist and Delhi University’s Professor Apoorvanand said “Hindutva goons have started attacking destitute Muslims living in shanties and destroying them. This is Hindutva bravery! Why are they not arrested and made out of circulation?”
Shaukat Ali, president of All India Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen in Uttar Pradesh, called these attackers “terrorists”.
“@myogiadityanath and @Uppolice are completely helpless against these terrorists. They don’t have the courage to put them in jail and ban their organisation because they are government-sanctioned goons,” he said.
