Rising hate speeches behind Muslim teen's lynching in Nargund, say activists

Hindu right-wing groups are behind the recent lynching of 19-year-old Sameer Shahpur in Gadag’s Nargund, human rights activists have said, flagging a spate of attacks on Muslims in the northern Karnataka town since November 2021.

“From all accounts, the mob allegedly has allegiance to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Bajrang Dal. Police have arrested four people, including Sanju Nalvade, a member of the Bajrang Dal,” a group of six academics and activists said in a report.

The report is based on interviews conducted with various stakeholders by Akash Bhattacharya, Mohammad Irshad, Rajendran Narayanan, Shabeer Ahmad, Shaikh Zakeer Hussain and Siddhart Joshi.

Shahpur was beaten to death on January 17 while returning home on a motorcycle with a friend named Shamsher Khan.

Khan was stabbed near the chest and is in a hospital.

According to the report, although Nargund did witness sporadic and minor incidents of Hindu-Muslim tensions in the past, “the last two years have seen a steady rise in hate speeches and the harassment of Muslims, with the intensity peaking since November 2021.”

The report also cites the cases of Azim, a college student who was assaulted and later named an accused in an FIR; the assault on Zyed, a 17-year-old student at Siddheshwar Government College, and the brutal attack on one Arbaaz at Maulana Azad School.

The report further says that Muslims are facing trumped-up charges and cites the incident when an armed mob of 200 threatened the community in Nargund’s Lodigalli area on January 14.

“The police came to the spot and four people — all belonging to the Muslim community — were arrested.

"An FIR was filed against some members of the community on fabricated grounds of defaming Hindu gods. However, nobody from the 200-odd mob of the Sangh Parivar was arrested,” the report states.

The report called communal incidents the “consequence of systematic forms of atomised and targeted violence against Muslims fuelled by hate speeches”.

The report has demanded a fair and free investigation into Shahpur’s murder, adequate compensation to his family and strong police action against hate speeches.

It also demanded the end of political patronage to organisations and individuals delivering hate speeches and committing hate crimes.

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