Hindu extremists beat Muslim men for praying outdoors, film incident
Hindu extremists in Uttar Pradesh state attacked a group of Muslim men for praying by the side of the road, which has been unofficially banned in the states ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party.
In a viral video of the incident, a group of visibly frightened Muslim men are seen kneeling and holding their ears as a sign of shame as Hindu extremists threaten them and beat them.
“What mistake did you do?” said one of the Hindu extremists in the video. “This is Uttar Pradesh. You cannot pray anywhere except in a mosque.”
Police did not take any action against the Hindu extremist vigilantes, saying only that “[the Muslims] were informed that [praying by the road] was not allowed, after which these people were left for their journey ahead.”
BJP members in West Bengal violently attack law enforcement officials; many injured
A massive protest organized by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against the leadership of West Bengal state’s Trinamool Congress government turned violent as protesters clad in saffron and carrying BJP flags violently attacked law enforcement.
Videos of the incident show chaos in Kolkata city as BJP supporters chased and beat police officers, hurled bricks, shattered cops’ riot shields, and shouted Hindu slogans while committing arson.
“BJP IT cell and their spokespersons have already started blaming Muslims for violence in Kolkata. Do watch how people chant Religious slogans while [torching] police vehicle,” wrote fact-checker Mohammad Zubair on Twitter, posting a video of the incident.
While the BJP have blamed the police for starting the violence, claiming that “innocent people” had stones thrown at them, Trinamool parliamentarian Sougata Roy has stated that the intent of the BJP was to provoke the police.
“The BJP workers have thrown stones and bricks at random. They have injured several policemen including IPS officers. They have broken cars… Very few BJP people have been injured. In every TV screen you can see BJP workers throwing stones,” he said.
In response to the rioting, Trinamool party leader Mahua Moitra has called out the double standard of BJP-ruled states in using bulldozers to demolish the homes of Muslim protesters, even when peaceful.
“What if Bengal used [Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s] model & sent bulldozers to homes of BJP workers who destroyed public property yesterday? Will BJP stand by its own policy or get their Chadds in a twist?” she wrote on Twitter.
Report finds that 8 in 10 Indian prisoners await trial; minorities disproportionately arrested
Eight in 10 prisoners in India are being detained while awaiting trial in overcrowded prisoners, said a report recently released by the independent annual study India Justice Report (IJR).
Compiled by a number of civil rights organizations, the IJR analyzes government data to rank states on their ability to deliver justice. This report used data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) to show a staggering increase in arrests between 2020 and 2021 as the Modi government cracks down on civil society and minority communities.
“The annual increase is particularly worrying given that 2021 was the second Covid year when a slew of decongestion efforts were being implemented across the nation,” the report said.
Minorities are also being disproportionately detained. Out of the 51.7% overall convicts, 21.69% belonged to underprivileged castes, 14.09% to members of indigenous tribes, and 15.9% were Muslims.
Of the 49% under-trials, 21.08% were underprivileged castes, 9.88% were indigenous, and 18% were Muslims.
The report also noted an overall decline in medical staff across prisons, leading to inhumane prison conditions.
