Another case exposing the substandard state of law and order in Rajasthan came to light on July 31. A video of a Muslim woman being thrashed and almost lynched, outside her house in Jaipur started making rounds on the internet. It turns out that she was beaten up by co-religionists for supporting Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) by painting slogans outside her house.
The incident took place in the Kalyan Nagar area of Sanganer in Jaipur on July 20. The attackers raged over her support for the BJP. They barged into her house, dragged her to the streets, and beat her up. She was rescued only after a policewoman intervened.
The woman has been identified as Tahira Bano, wife of Sahadat Ali.
What does the FIR say?
A First Information Report (number–456/2023) was registered at the Malpura Gate police station of Jaipur City (old) police station on July 20 by 51-year-old Sahadat Ali.
In his complaint, Ali told police that, he lives with his wife in the Kalyan Nagar area. On July 20, around 11:30 in the morning, a crowd of around 150-200 people assembled outside his house. They started abusing and taking the name of his wife, Tahira, saying “Take her out, we will kill her”.
Fearing the mob, Sahadat locked him and his wife in the house. However, the attackers broke the main door and entered his house, and dragged Tahira out. They beat her up and tore her clothes.
She sustained severe injuries. Those attacking include Nasir, Rashid, Arif, Irfan, Ikram, Deshwali, Ejaz, Kalam, Shanu and others.
The attackers did not stop there, as they barged into Ali’s house, broke his refrigerator, and vandalised other stuff in the house.
What did the police say?
Jaipur police arrested as many as seven accused out of the nine mentioned in the FIR.
They all have been booked under IPC sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 341 (wrongful restraint), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 452 (house trespass), 427 (mischief causing damage) and 354 (assaulting a woman using criminal force).
How did the cop rescue, Tahira?
As per the Hindi media reports, while Islamists were lynching Tahira, a policewoman named Dholi Bai came for her rescue. She was the one who entered the mob and shielded her from the attacks.
She told the media that, the Malpura police received a complaint that a mob of 100-150 was attacking a woman and rushed to the spot. When they reached there, they saw, the mob was trying to enter the house by breaking the gate.
By the time the police could reach her, they had dragged her out of her house. As it was raining the other day, the streets were clogged with water. The police managed to get the woman out of the clutches of the attackers and take her to the hospital.
Reports quoted police saying that the woman was mentally unstable, however, nothing was found in the FIR.
What did the family tell Organiser?
Organiser called Shahid Ali on August 1, after the video went viral on social media. The call was taken by Zeeshan Ali, son of Shahid, who is 19 years old and a school dropout. While talking to this correspondent Zeeshan was sitting at his shop, they sell Namkeen and toast.
About the incident he said, his mother has painted slogans supporting the BJP on the wall of their house. She is a little mad, he added.
When asked, do they support BJP, he said, “No we don’t”. He added things are out there in the newspaper.
When asked to elaborate, he said, ‘It is a long story and he will talk to this correspondent later’.
Pro-BJP slogans and posters
Reports claim that the mob assembled outside the house of the Muslim woman after they put up slogans supporting the BJP outside their house. Tahira was vocal about her support for the BJP, and hence, her neighbourers had grudges with her.
The attackers were angered after Tahira painted slogans and symbols of the party, lotus on the walls of her house. The locals already had a tiff with her over her support to the party, and this move made them angry.
The Viral video
In the viral clip, a woman can be seen in the middle of a number of men who are attacking her mercilessly. She was dragged in mud and her clothes were torn by the attackers.
Sharing the video, a BJP worker from Jaipur wrote on Twitter, “Hundreds of men came out to kill a single woman under the useless Congress rule Nasir, Rashid, Arif, Irfan, Ikram, Ejaz, Kalam along with a community mob, barged into a woman’s house in Jaipur’s Sanganer area The woman hid in the room to save her life, broke the door and brought her down, she was badly killed by throwing in the mud This is a 12 days old incident, the Congress government has kept it hidden till now, why is there so much silence @RahulGandhi ?”
निकम्मे कांग्रेस राज में एक अकेली महिला को मारने निकले सैंकड़ों दरिंदे
जयपुर के सांगानेर इलाके में एक महिला के घर में नासिर , राशिद, आरिफ, इरफान , इकराम, एजाज़ , कलाम के साथ समुदाय विशेष की भीड़ घुसी
महिला जान बचाने के लिए कमरे में छुपी , दरवाजा तोड़ कर मारते हुए उसे नीचे… pic.twitter.com/kc4OCAkMSq
— Laxmikant bhardwaj (@lkantbhardwaj) July 31, 2023
What did the activists say?
Former state spokesperson, Bhartiya Janata Party, Laxmikant Bhardwaj while speaking with Organiser said, the law and order situation in Rajasthan is vulnerable under the Congress party’s rule. Crime against women is at its peak.
Sharing some data, he said, in the last 55 months of Congress rule, as many as 10 lakh cases of crime have been reported in a state like Rajasthan, which is known for its peaceful atmosphere. Out of these 10 lakh cases, around 1,90,000 cases are of atrocities against women, and over 30,000 cases are of rape. Rajasthan is becoming the hub of crime against women, as of now, 22 per cent of the total cases of rape are being reported from Rajasthan only.
About the recent case, he said, even if the woman had not written the BJP slogans on the wall, this is a clear case of atrocities on women and which should not be accepted in any scenario.
He added the BJP workers organised a widespread protest against the ruling Congress government in Jaipur on August 1, here are some visuals:
Similar cases from the past
Readers will be shocked to find that this is not the only case where a person from the Muslim community is thrashed, targeted, or killed for supporting the BJP.
In a shocking incident from Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur, a man identified as Babar Ali was murdered by a group of Muslim men for celebrating the victory of BJP in the state assembly elections, last year.
In a similar case, from Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh, a Muslim woman, Gulistana, was asked to vacate her house by the landlord of her own religion. This was done, as she joined the BJP.
In Bareilly Uttar Pradesh, a Muslim woman Uzma was asked to vacate her husband’s house after she revealed that she voted for BJP.
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