Visuals of groups of men hurling abuses and comments on women belonging to Muslim communities found with Hindu men are common these days. The comments they pass include ‘Why can’t you find a Muslim man?’ or ‘How dare you take a Muslim woman out with you?’. This hooliganism is called vigilantism by Ilsmaic believers, as per them they are protecting their daughters from Hindu men.
Videos with captions having ‘Love Trap’ are common to social media these days. The Islamic followers claim this is a counter operation against ‘Love Jihad’ where a Muslim man cajoling his identity traps a Hindu woman to convert her to Islam. On the other hand, this so-called Love Trap is supposedly, a love relationship of a Muslim woman with a Hindu man, wherein no identity theft was done, nor did the woman is forced to convert.
In the recent past, there have been a number of such instances but only some have registered a police complaint against the mob. On May 13, another such incident of moral policing was reported from Muzaffar Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh. Following the roadside encounter, the vigilantes followed the Hindu man to his house, they threatened him and ultimately he had to register a police complaint against the perpetrators.
Islamic Vigilantism against so-called 'Bhagwa Love Trap'.
This case is from Muzaffarnagar, the vigilantes did not stop after hurling abuses against the Hindu man, they tracked him down to his place. Sent goons to locate him. He had to lodge a police complaint, see video & FIR: pic.twitter.com/XlVoT5tRCm
— Subhi Vishwakarma (@subhi_karma) May 16, 2023
As per the First Information Report (number-257/2023), the victim is a Hindu man from the Jaat community, Shivansh Khokar, a resident of Awas Vikas Colony, Circular Road. In his complaint, he stated that, on May 13, Shivash was going to the market with a Muslim woman friend. Near the Mount Liberation School road, some men in a bolero asked them to stop.
He stopped his bike a few meters ahead and asked what was their problem.
Instead of answering him, they asked their whereabouts and questioned the girl as well. Shivansh answered, ‘We went to buy stuff for our college farewell’. They did not listen to him and started abusing them, one of them even threatened Shivansh with dire consequences.
On May 14, the attackers reached his colony and started questioning the residents about him. Finding no clue, they left the place. Citing their threats, Shivansh registered this police complaint against the culprits.
As per the FIR, they all have been booked under IPC sections 147 (rioting), 504 (insulting intentionally) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
In a telephonic interview with Organiser on May 16, Shivansh said, he is a student of Bachelor of Engineering at Shri Ram College. He is native to Badot City in Baghpat and belongs to the Jaat community. The woman with him was a classmate Rukhsana Siddiqui (Imaginary name, Shivansh did not disclose the name of the woman, he just revealed her surname).
Shivansh had a year back and was behind his classmates who were in the third year. As they were giving farewell to their seniors, the woman went out shopping with another man identified as Yash. However, their vehicle got punctured and then they called Shivansh. Out of curtsey, Shivansh went to the market with Rukhsana, while Yash was at the garage.
It was then these men stopped them. They were five men, all Muslims, they even tried harassing the woman. He said, ‘Mam You would have watched the video, of how they removed her Burqa. We are just friends, not even friends, just classmates’.
One of them, whose name Shivansh remembered was Mohammad Arshad. He said the police teams are trying to nab them.
He said, when the attackers reached his hostel, his landlord managed things out, he sent him to a safe place so that the Islamists did not find him. The landlord believed in him and supported him with everything.
Notably, this is not the only case where a complaint was registered. On April 27, Organiser reported a case from the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district of Maharashtra. In the video, the Muslim vigilantes hurled abuses for a burqa-clad girl. They dragged her on the streets to snatch her cell phone. By the end of the video they can be heard saying, ‘Gair Muslim ladke ke sath kyu ghum rahi hai?’
"Tu Hindu ladke ke sath kyu ghum Rahi hai?"
One more video of Muslim Vigilantes attacking a burqa-clad girl for roaming out with a Hindu boy.
Case from Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra.
Watch: pic.twitter.com/VyxYZiBDW3
— Subhi Vishwakarma (@subhi_karma) April 27, 2023
Begumpura Police arrived at the scene after being notified. The police recognised the girl from the video and asked her to file a complaint, though she declined. However, the police started a procedure to file a suo motu case against the three men.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Deepak Girhe said, “The three accused, in this case, have been detained by the police on charges of criminal intimidation, stalking, causing bodily harm, and insulting a woman.”
“This incident is of Monday, 24 April. The victim hails from a town in Ahmednagar and is staying in Sambhaji Nagar to prepare for a competition. Police team reached the spot soon after the girl was molested, she was rescued by a family and taken to their home. Then the police team brought her to the station,” the Begumpura Police Inspector Shivaji Taware informed the media.
Furthermore, he added, “After taking some information, she was dropped off at her house after some time.”
Organiser reported a similar case from the Kahndwa district of Madhya Pradesh. Here Muslim vigilantes thrashed a Hindu teacher and a teen boy after they caught them sitting at a cafe with a burqa-clad girl. They asked questions like ‘Ramzan me Namaz padhi thi? and Tumko Musalman kam pad gaye?’.
Notably, in this case the girl and her family decided to register a complaint against the accused. A First Information Report (FIR number–148/2023) was registered as per which, 17-year-old girl daughter of Abdul Hafiz was sitting at a cafe with a Hindu boy, Atul Yadav and a laboratory attendant, Satyam Bavne on 16 April. Within no time a group of Islamists reached the cafe and asked what was the name of the girl. When she said it was their matter, they started abusing them all. On finding they belong to different religious backgrounds, they abused the minor girl saying ‘Why can’t you find Muslim boys to hang out with?’
The police booked all the accused Azhar Ali, Mohsin, Shadab and Irfan under IPC sections 294 (obscene act in a public place), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (act done by several people with common intention).
As of now there is no end to this moral policing, a number of cases have been reported from different states of the country but the police can take actions only in those reported.
