Madhya Pradesh: A Muslim student was beaten black and blue in India’s Madhya Pradesh state for talking to a Hindu girl classmate.
In the video of the incident, several men – reportedly belonging to the hardline Hindu Jagaran Manch – can be seen surrounding the boy and continuously slapping and punching him.
The later part of the video shows Shahbaz, the victim, shouting in pain as two of the mobsters begin to violently beat him, apparently with batons.
A Muslim student, doing Masters in Computer Science is being brutally beaten up by a Hindu Supremacist vigilante group for talking to a Hindu girl in MP, India. https://t.co/Ecl6NFjC1Y
— Ashok (@ashoswai) January 18, 2023
They also filmed the victim’s ordeal, before threatening him about talking to the girl. The mobsters also allegedly forced the girl that Shahbaz spoke to, to file a case of molestation against him.
Despite the grave threats, the Computer Science student lodged an FIR against unidentified men.
According to the human rights organisation, Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP),the victim has filed a first information report (FIR) against the attackers, which states that the incident took place on January 3.
He claims he was returning from a market at 2pm in the afternoon when a girl approached him regarding a book.
Some 3-4 unknown people surrounded him during this and began to demand why he was talking to the girl. The mob then started abusing him verbally and physically. The FIR states that several passers-by witnessed this incident.
The victim also alleged that the mob threatened to kill him if he was found talking to a girl again.
Instances of Hindu vigilantism in India are on the rise as the Hindu nationalist policies of the incumbent government embolden those with anti-Muslim tendencies.
Several human rights organisations have spoken up against the brutality being meted out to Muslims in India. Regarding this matter, the International Human Rights Foundation (IHRF) took to Twitter to condemn the violence.
