Hindu mob lynches imam after bike accident
In yet another horrific mob lynching case, a Hindu mob lynched an imam who was involved in a bike accident. The victim, Maulana Sahabuddin, accidentally collided his bike with an auto carrying a Hindu woman, leaving her with a minor injury.
A Hindu mob then accused the victim of “attacking” a Hindu woman and beat him with bats and sticks on his head, face, and body. The mob also ignored the woman’s pleas to stop beating Sahabuddin, who died after being rushed to a hospital.
Several Muslim men have been murdered in a string of Hindu supremacist mob lynchings since the beginning of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term in office.
Comedian cancels show after BJP leader threatens violence
Indian comedian Daniel Ferndandes was forced to cancel a show in Telangana state after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader T. Raja Singh threatened him with physical violence over a joke Ferndandes had made previously.
“Our workers will come and thrash you,” Singh threatened after Ferndandes joked about a group of Jains who, in an Islamophobic incident, dressed as Muslims in order to buy goats and “save” them from being sacrificed for the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha.
“We are still receiving calls, messages, and emails threatening us with violence and vandalism,” Fernandes said.
Singh has been repeatedly booked for making graphically violent hate speeches against minorities. In the past, he has called on Hindus to pluck out Muslim men’s eyes, mutilate their genitals, and engage in predatory marriages to Muslim women.
Hindu extremist groups harass Muslim lawyer representing interfaith couples
In Uttarakhand state, Hindu extremist groups gathered to harass a Muslim lawyer who represented interfaith couples and helped register their marriages. Uttarakhand is one of several Indian states that has passed laws criminalizing interfaith relationships, particularly those between Hindu women and Muslim or Christian men.
Hindu far-right propaganda site smears Muslim journalist
Independent Muslim journalist Meer Faisal has initiated legal action against OpIndia, a popular Hindu far-right propaganda site, after it published an article falsely accusing him of “spreading hate against Hindus.” The website is known for promoting hate speech, fake news, and smear campaigns against critics of Hindu supremacy, Modi, and the BJP.
In a notice sent to OpIndia’s director, Shaili Anilkumar Raval, Faisal’s lawyer states that OpIndia has repeatedly slandered Faisal in several articles, portraying him as an extremist and associating him with illegal organizations.
