On Thursday (18th April), a Hindu man named Umesh was brutally thrashed by a frenzied Islamist mob for offering a ride to a Muslim woman.
As per reports, the incident took place in Chitradurga city of Karnataka. Umesh works at a garment store and is a resident of Eerajjanahatti. On the fateful night, he was on his way to drop his colleague Parveen at her home.
At about 8 pm on Thursday, a group of 5 Islamists stopped the victim and verbally abused him for accompanying a Muslim woman. They then proceeded to assault him brutally. Umesh sustained severe injuries to his head and other parts of his body.
Following the attack, the victim reported the incident to the Chitradurga Town police. In the meantime, he underwent treatment at a local government hospital. Soon after, a police team led by SP Dharmendar Kumar and DSP Dinakar visited Umesh at the hospital.
When the news of the attack spread, members of the Hindu community gathered outside the hospital and demanded justice for Umesh. They also sought the immediate arrest of the perpetrators.
A day later on Friday (19th April), the victim’s colleague Parveen lodged a police complaint against him and accused him of molestation. She alleged that Umesh behaved inappropriately during the ride and tried to take her to a location different from her home.
The Muslim woman claimed that Umesh did not stop at Kanaka Circle and attempted to take her towards Chandravalli Thota. Parveen said that this forced her to raise alarm, following which her brother’s friends came to the spot and intervened (thrashed the victim).
‘Bhagwa love trap’ conspiracy theory and its aftermath
‘Bhagwa Love trap’ is a baseless theory about Hindu outfits, supposedly training Hindu youth to lure, and entrap Muslim women and turn them into non-Muslims. OpIndia has reported that an Islamic cleric by the name of Sajjad Nomani has been making such outrageous claims since 2021.
The conspiracy theory soon took the form of a social media hashtag, which Islamists used to share videos of random hijab-wearing Muslim women and their male Hindu friends/ acquaintances and partners without their consent.
The posts are often accompanied by emotional messages and seek public help in identifying the couples. Soon after, social media was rife with videos of Islamist mobs ambushing random Hindu-Muslim couples.
This would then be followed by heated arguments, physical assault on Hindu men, and even molestation of Muslim women. The victims have been targeted on roads, restaurants, eateries, and even hotels.
Based on local reports and social media videos, OpIndia has compiled several cases (here, here and here) where Hindu men and Muslim women were attacked by extremists under the pretext of the ‘Bhagwa love trap.’
OpIndia has also published an investigative report, highlighting how Islamists are using Whatsapp groups to target Hindu-Muslim couples.