Case registered against 1,700 Muslims for praying outdoors on Eid in Uttar Pradesh
Police in Uttar Pradesh state’s Kanpur city have registered a complaint against 1,700 Muslims for peacefully offering Eid prayers on roadsides, claiming violation of a prohibition on offering prayers outdoors.
“Just prior to the prayer, a crowd suddenly gathered on the road in front of the [mosque]. Despite the ban, everyone started offering [prayer] by spreading mats on the road. The police tried to stop them, but in vain,” said a police official.
The police’s attempt to stop Muslims from praying and their subsequent crackdown is in stark contrast to the utter lack of action taken against Hindu mobs taking out violent processions for the Hindu festival Ram Navami for the past two years.
This year’s Ram Navami violence in Uttar Pradesh included reports of Hindu extremists raising saffron flags over a major mosque, claiming it as their own, and pelting stones at Muslims in Muslim-majority areas.
Local Muslims have slammed the crackdown as being a targeted attack by law enforcement on the Muslim community.
Hindu extremists force Muslim man to bow down to cow, film incident
In yet another disturbing hate crime, a mob of Hindu extremist cow vigilantes forced a Muslim man transporting cattle to bow down to a cow, an animal considered sacred in Hinduism, before beating him. The public humiliation was also filmed and is now being circulated across social media.
The incident took place in the presence of two police officers and three home guards, who did nothing to intervene as the man was verbally abused and beaten to the point of needing to go to the hospital for injuries.
Despite the fact that the Muslim man had documentation proving that he was legally allowed to transport cattle, he now faces charges of animal cruelty, while the Hindu supremacists responsible for the assault have yet to be arrested.
Sufi shrine in Delhi demolished overnight, no prior warning
A Sufi shrine was demolished in the Indian capital of New Delhi with no prior warning, leaving its caretaker and frequent visitors outraged.
“I was informed by a person via phone call that the grave had been demolished at midnight and I felt like everything was taken from me,” said Syed Anwar Ali Sabri, whose family have been the caretakers of the shrine for seven generations.
“I did not receive any notice from any authority regarding the demolition. It took place without any prior notice or any information to me. After receiving the call, I visited the shrine, seeing the condition, it felt like nothing before existed there,” he added.
The shrine was frequented by visitors of multiple different faiths, many of whom have slammed the demolition and called for consequences against those who authorized the demolition.
“I do not understand what kind of developments are happening where they have to demolish religious sites… whether they are temples or shrines,” said one visitor, identifying himself as Jordan.
“It is not only happening in Delhi, it is happening across the nation, and no one is raising voices against it. Even if I say then who will listen to me, no one,” he added.
