Arjumand Shaheen
NEW DELHI – A sharp increase has been noticed in anti-Muslim violence across the country since election results were announced on June 4, the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) has said in its report.
The report released on Tuesday enumerates incidents of lynching, communal and mob violence, and the state-backed demolitions of Muslim homes after the elections in which the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took over power for the third time.
The APCR is an advocacy group composed of advocates, journalists, researchers, paralegal volunteers dedicated for the advancement of civil and human rights in India.
The APCR report details eight lynching incidents after the poll results were announced:
• Twenty-three-year-old Salman Vohra, who had gone to watch a cricket match in Chikhodra, Gujarat, was mercilessly beaten to death by a group of men on June 22.
• Three Muslim men, residents of Uttar Pradesh, were brutally attacked by a Hindutva mob in Chhattisgarh’s Raipur on 7 June. Saddam Qureshi and his cousin Chand Miya Khan (23), both from Saharanpur district, and Guddu Khan (35) from Shamli district, were transporting cattle when they were allegedly chased and attacked by a mob in Raipur; two died on the spot, while one died after 10 days.
• A 35-year-old Muslim man Aurangzeb alias Farid was beaten to death by a group of Hindus in Aligarh late on Tuesday (June 18), leading to communal tension in the communally sensitive city of Aligarh in western Uttar Pradesh. Ten days after the lynching, he and eight others were booked by the Aligarh police for dacoity.
• On 24 June, a woman was murdered in Toylanka village in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada after she and some of her family members had converted to Christianity. The brutal murder was operated and planned by the local Hindu men including family members, her relatives alleged.
• Two alleged incidents of lynching in Kolkata came to light in a span of 24 hours, one in the heart of the city and the other in the Salt Lake area. In the first incident, Irshad Alam, 37, was tied up and beaten to death at Bow Bazaar area, Central Kolkata, on June 28. The police arrested 14 persons in connection with the incident. Just 24 hours later, Prasen Mandal, 22, was lynched in the Salt Lake area.
Communal Clashes & Mob Violence
• Medak, Telangana: Communal tensions gripped Telangana’s Medak district where a clash erupted between two communities on 15 June over transportation of cows. The Hindu mob also carried out an attack on Minhaj ul Uloom Madrasa and a local hospital in the district. Several locals who were inside the madrasa were injured in the attack and had to be taken to hospital.
• Balasore & Khordha, Odisha: In Balasore, a curfew was imposed for over a week after a communal scuffle that broke out on 17 June. It was relaxed only earlier this week. There was a confrontation between two groups over allegations of cow slaughter near a mausoleum near Patrapada area. After some locals noticed that water in the drain near the mausoleum turned red, they protested, claiming it was due to cow slaughter.
Meanwhile, in Khordha, a Hindutva mob was seen entering Muslim houses, taking away freezers on suspicion of storing beef. They also allegedly vandalised the homes in the presence of the police.
• Jalori, Jodhpur: Communal tension broke out in Jalori Gate area of Jodhpur, which led to stone pelting, leaving at least 16 people, including four policemen injured on June 22.The two sides clashed with each other over installing a religious flag in connection with Eid, police said. According to NDTV, a three-day Parshuram Jayanti festival is also underway in Jodhpur and religious flags were put up by both communities, which led to an argument that spiralled into clashes.
• Soor Sagar, Jodhpur: On June 21, communal violence reportedly took place in Jodhpur’s Soor Sagar area. This has resulted in two policemen being injured and 51 people arrested. A shop was also set on fire and two vehicles were damaged. The issue took place with relation to the construction of a gate near an Eidgah at Rajaram Circle of the city.
• Nahan, Himachal Pradesh: On 19 June, a mob looted and vandalised a textile shop belonging to Muslim man named Javed in Himachal Pradesh’s Nahan. This was after he had reportedly shared a picture of animal sacrifice on his WhatsApp status. Following this, there were reports that due to the tense atmosphere and pressure from Hindutva groups, around 16 Muslim shopkeepers also left the town.
A week after the Shamli police arrested the shop owner Javed following an FIR against him in which he is accused of promoting enmity. Although police investigation later confirmed that Javed had not slaughtered a cow but it was a buffalo, which is legally permitted for slaughtering and consumption.
Incidents of Demolitions
• Several homes belonging to Muslims were demolished by authorities in Mandla, Madhya Pradesh allegedly on the pretext of possession of cow meat. However, the police claimed that the reason for the demolition was that the people’s houses were built on government land.
• Authorities in Madhya Pradesh demolished the homes of four Muslim men just after detaining them on charges of throwing bovine remains at a temple in Jawra, Ratlam district, even as the Madhya Pradesh High Court was hearing a petition against the impending demolition drive. The administration issued demolition backdated notices dating June 14 on June 16 around 12:30 PM, and demolitions began shortly afterwards. The court granted a stay order around 2:30 PM, but the houses had already been demolished between 12:30 PM and 1:30 PM.
• Another large-scale demolition was carried out in Akbarnagar locality in the Uttar Pradesh’s capital city of Lucknow.