Noida: Amjad, Rashid and half-a-dozen Islamists attack BJYM leader Abhishek Rathaur for supporting Nupur Sharma

Image: Twitter-Abhishek Singh Rathaur

A leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party Youth Wing was attacked by Islamists for supporting former BJP Spokesperson Nupur Sharma. The youth leader, Abhishek Singh Rathaur, shared the information about the attack against him on Twitter. “Because I supported Nupur Sharma, the people of the Muslim community ambushed and attacked me,” Rathaur tweeted.

OpIndia reached out to Abhishek in order to learn more about the incident. Abhishek, who is from Champaran in Bihar, lives in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, and works for the BJP as a Yuva Morcha worker. He was on his way to a restaurant in Noida Sector 44 yesterday when he noticed a gathering of individuals involved in a political conversation. Abhishek joined them in the discourse.

“Because I am politically active, I felt inclined to take part in the discussion and share my opinions. There, I discussed a variety of subjects, including the Nupur Sharma controversy,” said Abhishek. However, as he left the discussion and moved forward, around half a dozen people with rods and sharp objects attacked him from behind.

“They attacked me from behind. I remember the names of two of them, Amjad and Rashid,” Abhishek added. Abhishek stated that they were all standing beside him when the discussion was going on and they kept listening to him speaking and as he moved away, they attacked him with the intention to kill.

Two friends of Abhishek saved him as he fell unconscious and took him to the hospital. There he was given emergency treatment and the police were informed. Abhishek has been discharged now from the hospital and has submitted a written complaint to Noida ACP Rajneesh Verma, who has ordered an investigation into the matter.

This attack on Abhishek is the latest in a string of assaults following the controversy over Nupur Sharma’s comments during a TV debate, which has taken a terrible turn, with Sharma receiving numerous death threats and numerous others being attacked by Islamists simply for supporting her on social media and elsewhere. Many individuals have already been brutally killed by Islamists because of their support for Nupur Sharma. Several other persons have received death threats.

Further, the terrorist organisation Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) threatened Hindus and Sikhs in June of this year in response to Nupur Sharma’s remarks on Prophet Muhammad. On June 6, this year, Al Qaeda issued a letter threatening suicide bombings in Delhi, Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat in order to “fight for the honour of the Prophet.”

OpIndia Staff: Staff reporter at OpIndia