Murder of 2 Muslim teen protesters in Jharkhand; Indian diaspora aghast
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington, DC (June 10, 2022) – The Indian American Muslim Council, an advocacy group dedicated to safeguarding India’s pluralist and tolerant ethos today unequivocally condemned the murder of two Muslim teens named Mudasir, 15 and Sahil, 19 from Ranchi, Jharkhand who were killed by the police during a protest against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s blasphemous remarks against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
IAMC has further condemned the violence and police brutality unleashed upon Muslim protestors across India, including in Uttar Pradesh, where police in multiple cities charged at Muslims with batons, pelted stones, and beat several individuals with sticks before arresting them.
In Allahabad city, now officially known as Prayagraj, the Uttar Pradesh police illegally arrested the family members of prominent Indian Muslim activist Afreen Fatima including her father Javed Mohammed, mother Parveen Fatima, and younger sister Sumaiya Fatima.
“We are extremely concerned for the safety of my family whose whereabouts we are unaware of and for the safety of our own selves and our houses as all of us, including women and children are being forcefully evicted from our house in the middle of the night without providing any reasons,” Afreen said in a statement.
Similarly, in Hyderabad, police charged at protesters with batons to disperse them, while the Srinagar district in Kashmir was subjected to an internet blackout to quash any form of dissent.
“There is a clear double standard in the way protesters and Hindu supremacist rioters are treated by the Indian law enforcement,” said Husnaa Vhora, spokesperson for IAMC. “While Muslims protesting against hate speech are murdered by police gunfire, weapon-wielding Hindu supremacists are allowed to wreak havoc on Muslim neighborhoods and walk away with no consequences.”
“It is now the norm to find that police are complicit in furthering anti-Muslim violence across India. This is unacceptable and must be condemned at the highest levels of government,” said Syed Afzal Ali, President of IAMC.
Just last week Rashad Hussain, the Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom while releasing the US State Department’s 2021 International Religious Freedom Report called out the Indian government officials, who he said are “ignoring or even supporting rising attacks on people and places of worship.”
