Hindu youth brutally murdered by Muslim gang in India; Muslim representatives offer justifications for the incident

A violent incident occurred in Uttar Pradesh, India, during the Hindu festival of Durga Puja, in which a 22-year-old Hindu man was killed, sparking widespread communal riots. The unrest resulted in significant damage to public and private property.

The victim, Ram Gopal Mishra, was part of a Durga immersion procession on Sunday, October 13, in the Bahraich district. As the procession moved through a Muslim-majority area, stones were hurled from rooftops. Religious extremists demanded the procession halt the music associated with the event, threatening violence. The situation escalated further when a Hindu participant replaced a green flag on a nearby roof with a saffron one after the idol of the goddess was damaged. Despite pleas for protection at the local police station, the authorities instead targeted the Hindu crowd with a baton charge, exacerbating the situation. Taking advantage of the chaos, Abdul Hamid, his sons, and other residents allegedly dragged Ram Gopal Mishra into their house and fatally shot him. Several other Hindus were injured and hospitalised.

The horrific brutality revealed

Autopsy results confirmed that Ram Gopal Mishra had been struck by more than thirty bullets. The attackers not only shot him but also electrocuted him and gouged one of his eyes with a sharp object. His thumbs showed signs of burns, a toenail had been ripped out, and burn marks were visible on one of his legs. The severe blood loss ultimately led to his death. It is clear that the perpetrators didn’t just kill him in a fit of anger; they deliberately inflicted a prolonged and agonizing death. This gruesome incident exposes a common characteristic seen in jihadis worldwide: they don't merely kill, but do so with extreme cruelty to set a brutal example for others, sending a message to anyone who might challenge or stand in their way. Such savage methods have been documented historically and were also evident in the killing of Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma, as well as in the Hamas attack on October 7, 2024.

How Police and Local Authorities Let Hindus Down

Some Muslim groups have become adept at influencing local government officials and political institutions, often swaying police and administrative authorities in their favor. India, one of the earliest victims of this strategy, continues to face its consequences. In this particular case, when Hindus sought protection from the police, instead of offering support, the police—despite operating under a supposedly “pro-Hindu” BJP-led state government—responded by forcefully dispersing the Hindu crowd with batons.

Commenting on the violence, Bahraich Superintendent of Police (SP) Vrinda Shukla referred to the location as a “Muslim area.” This statement is troubling because it suggested that Hindus had intruded into a restricted zone, almost justifying the violence perpetrated by the Muslims.

India is a secular nation, and the Hindu procession was passing through a public road built with taxpayer money, a significant portion of which comes from Hindus. How can this road be labeled a “Muslim area”?

This isn’t the first time a high-ranking official has referred to a Muslim-majority area as a “Muslim area,” implying that such places are off-limits to non-Muslims. Many regions across India have Muslim-majority populations, but under the logic presented by SP Shukla and others, these become “Muslim areas” where non-Muslims are unwelcome. This narrative contradicts the secular fabric of India, and it seems part of a larger strategy—to maintain India’s secularism while creating Muslim-dominated zones where their authority prevails.

Defending the Killing

Some prominent media figures and political representatives from the Muslim community argue that the victim had replaced an Islamic flag with a saffron flag, which allegedly provoked Abdul Hamid and his accomplices to drag him into a house and brutally murder him. Although several videos of flag-swapping incidents have circulated online, it has not been conclusively proven that the victim was involved in the act.

Even if we accept that Ram Gopal Mishra was responsible for swapping the flags, does that justify his horrific, cold-blooded murder by the Muslim attackers?

On Monday, October 14, a Muslim named Saleem Salman Thakur desecrated a Hindu idol in a temple in Hyderabad, Telangana. The act was captured on CCTV, sparking protests from Hindus demanding justice. The police have since arrested the accused, and the legal process will follow. While there have been many instances of Muslims entering Hindu religious sites with questionable intent, there has been no retaliation from Hindus that resulted in loss of life.

In 2021, the Muslim media sensationalised a case where a Muslim teen was slapped by priests at a Hindu temple in Dasna after being found deep inside the temple premises. The temple committee suspected the boy of planning a robbery, as such incidents had occurred before. However, media outlets framed the story as if the boy was merely "thirsty," conveniently ignoring the fact that a public water tap was located right outside the temple. Today, some of the same voices are defending the murder of a Hindu youth by highlighting the swapping of flags.

(This Article was originally published by Jihad Watch)