Mainstream media by no means provides a balanced or an exhaustive enough reportage to be used for a fair, pan-India analysis. It has been seen that many media houses cherrypick cases in which the victim-perpetrator equation suits their narratives. It is essentially tailor-made to show Muslims as overwhelmingly the victims and Hindus overwhelmingly as the perpetrators, creating a false perception among minorities that they are under attack from ‘fascist’ Hindus with active cooperation from the state machinery. The harsh reality is that the Hindus have been an overwhelming target of hate crimes in India. Hindus have been murdered brutally and lynched for speaking up, in riots that were specifically anti-Hindu and driven by Islamists and some, just for being Hindus.
The media often shies away from talking about these cases and the ones who do are attacked by the same ecosystem. In fact, even when the perpetrators are not Muslims, somehow, Hindu victims fail to inspire the outrage that Muslim victims do.
Here are 27 incidents where Hindus were brutally murdered, but they failed to inspire any outrage from the mainstream media and the ‘liberal’ establishment.
Two Sadhus and driver Nilesh Telgade lynched in Palghar, Maharashtra
In an incident that happened on 16th April 2020 in Palghar, Maharashtra, two Sadhus, 70-year-old Kalpavrishka Giri Maharaj and 35-year-old Sushil Giri Maharaj along with their driver 30-year-old Nilesh Telgade associated with the Juna Akhara, who were on their way from Mumbai to Gujarat to give Samadhi to another Sadhu, were brutally lynched by a mob of over 100 people.
This blood-curdling Palghar lynching incident is a hard-hitting reminder that such incidents happen incessantly where Hindus are the victims, unlike what is portrayed by the section of biased media.
Listed below are the names of few more of the several Hindus who have been at the receiving end of extreme outrage and hatred.
Delhi Police Head Constable Ratan Lal shot by Islamists
Head constable Ratan Lal lost his life on February 24, 2020, as Islamists protesting against CAA pelt stones during anti-CAA riots in Delhi, timed with US President Donald Trump’s India visit. According to the autopsy report, Ratan Lal had died of a bullet injury. As per a report by India TV, the names of the suspects were Salim Malik, Mohammad Jalauddin, Mohammad Yunus, Mohammad Ayub, Arif, Danish and Mohammad Salim Khan.
IB sleuth Ankit Sharma brutally murdered by Islamist mob
The brutally inflicted on Intelligence Bureau staffer Ankit Sharma by rioting Islamists during the Delhi anti-Hindu riots was beyond belief. The dead body of an Intelligence Bureau constable was recovered from a drain in North East Delhi amidst anti-Hindu riots in the national capital. Ankit Sharma, who lived in Chand Bagh, was returning home one evening when he was attacked by a violent mob on the Chand Bagh bridge and beaten to death. The Muslim mob had thrown his body into a drain.
Delhi police revealed that Ankit Sharma was stripped before his killing. As per a report by ABP News, his clothes were removed to check his religion before he was brutally murdered. He had injury marks on his head, chest, and face. After his killing, an acid-like liquid was poured on Ankit Sharma to conceal his identity. Ankit Sharma’s post mortem report revealed that he was stabbed multiple times for four to six hours.
AAP leader Tahir Hussain is considered to be the kingpin behind the murder of IB sleuth Ankit Sharma and the violent clashes that broke out in Delhi in February this year.
Hindu activist Kamlesh Tiwari brutally killed by Jihadis
On the 18th of October 2019, Hindu activist and leader of the Hindu Samaj Party, Kamlesh Tiwari, was brutally murdered by Jihadis at his residence in Lucknow. He was shot and his throat was slit by the murderers. Since then, the investigation has seen numerous developments and various people have been arrested for their involvement in the murder.
The postmortem report of Kamlesh Tiwari’s murder revealed that the Hindu leader was stabbed 15 times and was also shot once. The Jihadis had stabbed him in the upper part of the body from jaws to the chest. The wounds were inflicted within 10 centimetres of each other. The report also suggested that there were two deep cut marks on the neck which pointed at an attempt to slit his throat.
A day after the murder, the Gujarat ATS had nabbed the main conspirators named Rashid Pathan, Faizan Pathan and a Maulvi named Mohsin Sheikh from Surat. They had confessed after an interrogation that they had planned Tiwari’s murder for his 2015 comments on Prophet Muhammad’s sexuality which they considered was ‘blasphemous’.
On October 22, four days after the murder, a team of Gujarat ATS led by DIG ATS Himanshu Shukla nabbed Ashfaq and Moinuddin, the two prime accused in the case from the Gujarat-Rajasthan border. Ashfaq had forged his colleague’s Aadhaar to pose as Rohit Solanki, a Hindu rights activist, to gain the trust of Tiwari.
During their interrogation in police custody, the Jihadis gave away gory details of the murder and revealed their true intentions.
Investigations into the case had revealed that Kamlesh Tiwari’s murder was a well-plotted one wherein all the communication was reportedly done through a WhatsApp group consisting of 72 people involved in the crime.
Vikas Yadav tied to a tree and brutally beaten by mob in Kanpur
A man named Vikas Yadav was brutally assaulted on October 18, 2019, by a raft of angry Muslim men in Bindki town of Fatehpur district in Uttar Pradesh following a brawl at a wheat flour mill. A video of the incident that had gone viral showed how Vikas was tied up to tree by a frenzied mob of irate Muslim men baying for his blood.
Murshidabad triple murder case
In a spine chilling incident, Bandhu Prakash Pal, a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker, his pregnant wife and their six-year-old son were brutally murdered in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district on October 10, 2019. A week after a family of three was brutally murdered in Murshidabad in West Bengal, the police had arrested one person, Utpal Behera who had confessed to having committed the crime for a dispute over mere ₹24,000.
Gangaram Singh Chauhan lynched for filing a written complaint against his 13-year-old daughter’s abduction
On June 27, 2019, Gangaram Singh Chauhan of Aliyabad village in Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad district was lynched at home for filing a written complaint at the local Dilari police station against his 13-year-old daughter’s abduction. After the minor girl was kidnapped the second time allegedly by her 25-year old neighbour Mohammad Danish, Chauhan decided to approach the police. Earlier, fearing social shame, the family had brushed the crime under the carpet.
Tragically, the 55-year-old Chauhan had to pay the price with his life for safeguarding his daughter. Chauhan’s wife claimed that a total of six men and two women armed with lathis and butchers’ knife had barged into their home hurling abuses, and hit her on her head. Thereafter they punched Chauhan, who was resting on a cot, hard on his chest, lifted him and banged him on the floor several times. They left once he fell unconscious.
“Leave our area, you Hindus”, said Safayat Nabi’s family while lynching the 55-year-old Gangaram Singh Chauhan.
A first information report (FIR) was filed on the same night, in which six accused, Safayat Nabi, his three sons Mohsin, Chhotu and Danish, and their two cousins, Akram and Irrfan had been named.
Hindu lassi shopowner Bharat Yadav lynched by Muslim Mob in Mathura
On May 18, 2019, an agitated Muslim mob in the town of Mathura descended upon two Hindu lassi shopowners- both brothers, located at the crammed Chowk Bazaar of Mathura, close to the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple. Following a minor tiff, a burqa-clad woman brought along with her a bloodthirsty mob at the iconic ‘Nattho Yadav Lassiwale’ to exact revenge for the perceived inequity meted out to her. The mob indulged in brutally thrashing the lassi shop owners while addressing them ‘Kaafir’, a pejorative reference to non-Muslims.
Pankaj Yadav and Bharat Yadav, the two brothers who were managing the shop at that time were severely injured in the attack. Though the brothers were taken for dressing their external wounds, the elder brother Bharat sustained internal injuries and within a week’s time on May 24, his health deteriorated and on the following day, he died. The post-mortem revealed that Bharat’s brain and nerves were damaged in the attack.
Vishnu Goswami set on fire after a minor dispute in Gonda, UP
A youth, Vishnu Kumar Goswami, resident of Mughal Jot village in Chistipur area of Gonda district, UP, was doused with petrol and set on fire after a minor dispute May 15 last year, reported Amar Ujala.
Vishnu had gone to bring his father Ramdi Goswami back from Jamunia Bagh. On the way back, the father and son stopped to drink water on the side of the Gonda-Ayodhya highway.
There, the driver of a petrol tanker and a few others got into an argument with Vishnu. The matter quickly escalated and the four accused – Imran, Tufail, Ramzan, Nizamuddin – doused Vishnu with petrol and set him on fire.
Delhi businessman Dhruv Tyagi stabbed to death for protesting daughter’s harassment
A businessman Dhruv Raj Tyagi, who owned several houses and shops in the Basai Darapur area of Delhi’s Moti Nagar, was stabbed to death by Jehangir Khan and his son Mohammad Alam in May 2019. The 51-year old was hacked to death by the father-son duo as the victim went to Jehangir to complain about his son who had molested Tyagi’s daughter. The weapon with which Tyagi was murdered, a butcher’s knife, was provided by Jehangir Khan’s wife and daughter. Tyagi was not only murdered, but his body was mutilated, fingernails were ripped out and teeth were broken.
Activist V Ramalingam was brutally murdered in Tamil Nadu
On February 6, 2019, a PMK (Pattali Makkal Katchi) leader in Tamil Nadu, V Ramalingam was brutally murdered by a group of people belonging to a minority community for opposing religious conversion. Ramalingam was assaulted in Kumbakonam in Thanjavur district on his way back home by a group of unidentified people and his hands were chopped off. Ramalingam had died on the way to the hospital due to excessive bleeding.
Inspector Subodh Singh killed Bulandshahar during protests over illegal slaughterhouses
One Police Inspector Subodh Singh had died in December 2018, after people protesting against illegal slaughterhouses in Bulandshahar clashed with the Police.
As per reports, protesters had gathered outside a police station claiming that they had discovered carcasses of cows in their locality. Angered with police inaction even after repeated complaints, they clashed with the police.
The police, as per reports, opened fire at the protesters. It is claimed that the police was forced to open fire after the protesters attacked them with stones. In the chaos, inspector Subodh Kumar Singh lost his life. A youth, Sumit, too, succumbed to injuries.
Auto driver Avinash Saxena lynched for allegedly stealing car batteries in Delhi
A 26-year-old auto driver had died while two other men were hospitalised after a mob allegedly tied them to an electric pole, thrashed and later paraded them for allegedly stealing car batteries in West Delhi’s Mohan Garden on November 26, 2018.
Saxena lived with his parents, wife and two children in a rented house in Mohan Garden. He usually worked at night. He was lynched near Pipal Chowk, nearly two kilometres from his home between 3.30 am and 7.30 am.
The auto driver’s parents rushed to the spot to find their son tied to an electric pole. The couple made desperate attempts to save their son and unsuccessfully tried to call the police. They were forced to return home, leaving their son behind.
Bhavesh Koli stabbed to death for opposing bike stunts:
Seven bikers stabbed a 24-year-old Hindu man named Bhavesh Koli, to death for stopping them from speeding and performing bike stunts on the ES Patanwala Marg in Mumbai on July 5, 2018. Those arrested have been identified as Shahzada Usman Shaikh and Anus Shaikh.
Tribal youth Madhu Chindaki lynched, accuser Ubaid took selfie before killing
A poor tribal youth was brutally lynched on 22nd February 2018, by a mob in Attappady, Kerala over suspicion of theft of food items. The victim, identified as 27 years old Madhu Chindaki, was reported to be mentally challenged. The mob caught him hiding near the Attappadi forest and lynched him before handing him to the police and he soon succumbed to his injuries.
Things were so brazen that one of the accused named Ubaid even took a selfie with Madhu before lynching him.
Ankit Saxena killed for loving Muslim girl in Delhi
A Hindu boy named Ankit Saxena was brutally murdered in Delhi, in February 2018, for being in a relationship with a girl named Shehzadi from the ‘minority’ community. The murderers were relatives, including parents, of the girl. Ankit had been under pressure to break his relationship with the girl. Since he did not comply, he was murdered with his neck slit.
Dalit youth Amit Gautam beaten to death in UP’s Hathras
On January 31, 2018, a Dalit youth named Amit Kumar Gautam (27) was beaten to death in the Gadhi Khandari locality (which demographically contains a mixed religious population) of Hathras, UP. The battered body of the youth was recovered from near a Mosque. As per reports, the murder was committed due to a dispute over a motorcycle.
Amit’s family members had filed a case against five Muslim youths namely Alam, Saddam, Khalid, Sukel and Ashu.
Chandan Gupta, killed during Republic Day rally in Kashganj, UP
On January 26, 2018, Chandan Gupta died of gunshot wounds after he was shot at during the motorcycle rally taken out to celebrate Republic Day in Uttar Pradesh’s Kashganj town. His killing led to communal violence in the western UP town. At least three shops, two buses and a car were torched. Both his parents had claimed that their son was shot at since he refused to say “Pakistan Zindabad”.
On January 31, 2018, police had arrested one Salim, who they identified as the main accused in the murder case. On February 9, 2018, Asif Gymwala, who was named as an accused in the Chandan Gupta murder case, surrendered in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate.
E-rickshaw driver Ravinder Kumar killed over public urination
In a shocking case of intolerance, Ravindra Kumar (32) an e-rickshaw driver in north Delhi was lynched by 5 students in the month of June, 2017, after the former stopped the later from urinating in public. On June 2nd, at around 1.30 PM, Ravinder Kumar was about to begin his lunch in his e-rickshaw when he noticed two teenagers urinating on the roadside near the GTB Metro station. To embarrass the youths, he offered money to the youths for using a public toilet, located just a few steps away from where they were urinating.
The two youths, however, entered into an argument with him. Before leaving the spot, they threatened him and said they would return soon and “disfigure his face”.
Seven hours later, they returned with 10-15 friends and beat the Hindu man to death with iron knuckles and stones wrapped in towels. The group fled when Ravindra collapsed. Ravindra’s family members rushed him to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his injuries during treatment.
Aspiring air hostess Riya Gautam was stabbed to death in broad day light in Delhi
A Hindu resident of Ramnagar area in Mansarovar Park, Delhi, Riya Gautam, was brutally stabbed by one Adil Banne Khan in a busy market in broad daylight on July 5, 2017. CCTV footage from a camera installed outside a shop in Ram Nagar Colony had shown Adil attacking Riya and then chasing her as she ran for cover into the shop. He was later seen shoving aside people who had gathered and running away with a knife in hand. The bleeding girl was rushed to Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital and underwent surgery, but a deep wound on her upper abdomen and heavy bleeding due to a slit wrist proved fatal. Adil Banne Khan (23) and his two aides, Juned Salim Ansari (19) and Fazil Raju Ansari (18) were arrested by Mumbai Crime branch from Bandra suburb on July 8, 2017.
14-year-old Yogesh Kumar lynched by Muslim friends
The victim, identified as Yogesh Kumar, was found dead under mysterious circumstances near New Delhi Railway Station in June 2017. Multiple injury marks were found all over his face and the body indicated that he was battered to death. His autopsy said the injuries on his body were clear signs of his being attacked with a sharp object. Victim’s mother, Seema said it was a case of lynching by his Muslim friends, who had demanded money from her while keeping Yogesh hostage. She even claimed that they made her hear Yogesh’s voice for once who was trembling with fear.
Dr Pankaj Narang dragged out of house, beaten to death over a small argument
On March 26, 2016, a Muslim mob gathered around Dr Pankaj Narang’s house and pounded him to death using sticks and rods. Like a concerned father, Dr Narang had only dared to scold two motorcycle-borne youth for brushing past his son who was playing cricket on the road. A scuffle broke out shortly after which a Muslim mob returned baying for Dr Narang’s blood A Delhi court had then sent the four juveniles to a correctional home, while the five other accused — Naseer, Maesar, Amir, Ameer and Gopal — were sent to Tihar jail.
Bajrang Dal activist Prashant Poojary killed trying to stop illegal cow slaughter
On October 9, 2015, a Bajrang Dal activist, Prashant Poojary was brutally hacked to death for trying to stop illegal cow slaughter by the men who are members of the Popular Front of India (PFI) – a pro-Muslim group. Poojary was attacked by six bike-borne men in broad daylight in a marketplace. He died the same day of his injuries.
These are a few of the many cases where the sheer enormity of brutality inflicted on these Hindus have been beyond belief, but unfortunately, most of these cases never got the much-needed media coverage. Most of the left-liberal media failed to call out these “lynching” incidents, and even if it found a mention, it was twisted or downplayed as the victims here were Hindus.
The mainstream media, playing Nero’s guests, have carefully crafted the victim narrative that politicians have often used to ensure that the Muslim vote bank remains intact. In that narrative, the default aggressors are always the Hindus. One recalls how Rajdeep gave a political context to the murder of Prashant Poojari or how Sonia Gandhi’s NAC wanted to introduce the Communal Violence Bill, where the victim of any sectarian violence would always be the Muslim and the perpetrator always a Hindu. One recalls how during the Delhi anti-Hindu riots, that actually started right from the first week of November when Muslim mobs went on a rampage opposing NRC and CAA, were turned on its head to peddle the narrative of it being an anti-Muslim riot.
For this narrative to survive, the Hindu must never be shown as the victim, even when they are overwhelmingly murdered, lynched and brutalised. The media simply looks away, abandoning the victims because their religion is not the right religion to be called victims.
This malaise finds its roots in deep Hinduphobia and the fact that most of India’s media is terribly left-leaning. However, while the media stays silent, these Hindu victims, and many like them, must be remembered to ensure that the ordeal of the brutalised Hindu does not get lost in the minoritarian cacophony.
