6 Hindu Extremists Arrested For Lynching Muslim Youth, Main Accused Has History Of Anti-Muslim Hate Crimes
Six Hindu extremist men were arrested in connection with the brutal mob lynching of 23-year-old Mohammad Fazil, who was ambushed by masked assailants, beaten, and hacked to death in Karnataka state.
The extremists have been identified as Suhas Shetty (29), Mohan (26), Giridhar (23), Abhishek (21), Srinivas (23), and Deekshith (21).
Shetty, who masterminded Fazil’s murder, has a history of anti-Muslim violence, with four cases registered against him already. These cases include assaults on Muslim men and one murder in 2010.
Leaders of the violent Hindu supremacist group Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) also confirmed that Shetty frequently attended programs run by the VHP and the Bajrang Dal, another Hindu extremist group that has previously offered arms training to Hindu youth.
Fazil’s lynching was plotted on the day a youth leader from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was murdered, leading police to dismiss theories that the lynching was spontaneous or tied to a personal issue.
Former Hindu Extremist Leader Condemns Hindutva, BJP, Hindu Extremist Groups After Murder Of BJP Youth Leader
A former leader of the violent Hindu supremacist group Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Mahesh Shetty Timarodi, strongly condemned the Hindu nationalist movement and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). His comments were made in wake of the Hindu extremist outcry over the murder of BJP youth leader Praveen Nettaru in Karnataka state.
“We are on the wrong side today. Why? Because are the ones who began all these in the name of Hindutva,” he said during a visit to offer condolences to Nettaru’s family, which was recorded on video.
“After looking at these people’s predisposition, we have left these things (Hindu nationalism). Or else we would have been dead (by) now,” he added. “I do not know what to say, as it was us who began all this in the name of Hindutva (Hindu nationalism).”
Timarodi further stated that any criticisms of Hindu extremist groups could lead to violent attacks.
“Not them (Muslims), but these BJP people will attack us. Their leaders will attack us,” he said, shifting the blame away from the Muslim community, which has been threatened with “revenge” over the death of Nettaru.
Timarodi added that he and other former Hindu extremists have tried to warn young Hindus not to fall prey to the BJP’s identity politics, “but the youth [don’t] listen.”
BJP Leader Says Modi Government Will Soon Implement Anti-Muslim Citizenship Amendment Act
Home Minister Amit Shah, a Hindu supremacist and close ally of Modi, threatened that the Modi government will implement the globally condemned anti-Muslim Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) after India completes its third Covid-19 vaccine drive, putting Muslims across India at risk of mass statelessness.
The plan to implement the CAA was disclosed by West Bengal BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari on Twitter, saying that he had requested Amit Shah “to implement CAA at the earliest.”
The CAA is a discriminatory bill that fast-tracks citizenship for religious minorities, excluding Muslims. Muslims who protested the bill were often met with violence from both police and Hindu extremist mobs, culminating in the arrest of thousands of Muslims and activists across India.
Human rights defenders warn that the CAA is a thinly veiled attempt to exclude Muslims from being allowed to call themselves Indian, a policy that is genocidal in nature.
Police Release 6 Muslims Wrongfully Detained Without Evidence After Khargone Violence
Police in Uttar Pradesh state’s Kanpur city have been slammed for the “hasty and indiscriminate arrest” of six Muslim men who were accused of violence during a protest against former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s blasphemous comments about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The police released the men after failing to produce any evidence against them.
The families of the six men had submitted CCTV footage and other evidence to the police that proved none of the accused were not present at the site of violence on June 3.
“My brother was not present where the violence took place. He went to offer Friday prayer to a mosque near our home and came back immediately. To prove my claim, I submitted footage of CCTV cameras installed at places where he was present when the protests took place,” said a family member of one of the accused.
The accused individual’s plight is shared by a number of Muslims who were arrested indiscriminately following the Kanpur protests. Many of these Muslims continue to languish in prison under charges of “terrorism.”
“I know a dozen people arrested by the police in connection who are innocent, but the charges are so serious that police will not go on the backfoot,” the family member added.
Historic University Forced To Drop Texts By Muslim Scholars From Syllabus After Hindu Extremists Demand Removal
Aligarh Muslim University, a historic and prestigious university in Uttar Pradesh state, was forced to drop two texts by Muslim scholars from its Islamic studies syllabus after over a dozen Hindu extremists wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding that the books be removed from all campuses across India.
The extremists alleged in their complaint that the works of Abul A’la al-Maududi of Pakistan and Sayyid Qutb of Egypt promote “terrorism and fanaticism.”
Muhammad Ismail, chair of the department of Islamic Studies at AMU, told The Telegraph the university had decided to drop the books to avoid further backlash. However, he added, the Hindu extremists were incorrect, and the books contained “nothing objectionable.”
“A democratic and a non-democratic country can’t treat a book in the same spirit. However, I would like to emphasize that we don’t want any controversy,” he said.
Hyderabad Mosque Bulldozed By Municipal Authorities, Police After Complaint From Hindu Extremist
A mosque was bulldozed in Telangana state’s Hyderabad city after a Hindu extremist alleged that the mosque was illegally constructed. Masjid-e-Khaja Mehmood was demolished in the early hours of the morning by municipal officials along with police.
“The mosque at Shamshabad was constructed three years back and five times prayers were held there regularly. The colony came up on 15 acres, and a majority of the people staying there are Muslims,” said Amjedullah Khan, a Muslim leader.
Khan added that the government’s demolition of the mosque was “following the footprints of the BJP government of Uttar Pradesh,” where the house of prominent Muslim activist Afreen Fatima was recently bulldozed for her opposition against the Modi regime.
In a number of states across India, Muslim-owned homes, shops, and mosques have been targeted in demolition drives as punishment for expressing dissent or for acting in self-defense against Hindu extremist mob attacks.
