A year ago, on January 25, 2022, a cow-loving Hindu family man from Dhanduka, Gujarat, Kishan Bharwad, was shot dead by two bike-borne assailants. He was allegedly killed for publishing a social media post with a video that included a picture of prophet Mohammed. The assailants who killed Kishan were inspired by Islamic religious leaders who instigated them to carry out ‘jihadi activity’ of killing the ‘blasphemer’. As per Islam, any visual depiction of prophet Muhammad is blasphemy.
So far, eight people have been arrested in the case across India, including six maulanas. Multiple agencies are investigating the case, and links to Pakistan have emerged during the probe. Maulana Mohammad Ayub Jawrawala of Jamalpur, Ahmedabad and Maulana Qamar Gani Usman of Delhi were among those who got arrested. During the investigation, it was revealed that Kishan’s murder was part of a larger conspiracy.
As the incident has completed one year, OpIndia tried to find out the current status of the case, the situation of Kishan’s family and the repercussions of the incident in Dhanduka.
Status of Kishan’s family
When Kishan was murdered, his daughter was only 23 days old. OpIndia contacted his family that lives in Dhanduka. Kishan is survived by his parents, wife, daughter, two brothers and sister. The daughter has now completed one year. The family has not fully recovered from the shock of Kishan’s murder. Their eyes teared up while talking about the case. Everyone in the family misses their beloved Kishan.
His father, Shivabhai Bharwad, spoke openly to OpIndia. When he was alive, Shivabhai recalled, Kishan was among the popular youth of Hindutva ideology. He recalled that on the day of the incident and said he had no idea such an attack could have happened to his son. He had no idea that people with a jihadi mindset were hunting for his son. When he was informed about the incident, he could not believe it.
Shivabhai said that Kishan was religiously active from the beginning. He was always devoted to the religion and known for his Hindutva ideology. Perhaps, his ideology became an eyesore for the jihadis.
Hindu organisations came to support
Shivabhai pointed out that when the reports went out that Kishan was murdered by Islamists, many small and large Hindu organisations across Gujarat rushed to support them. Many functionaries of different organisations came to meet them personally. People have contributed a lot since day one of the legal battle.
The Gujarat government remained like a family
Kishan’s father said the Gujarat government and police provided sufficient support since the day of the incident. At the same time, Home Minister of Gujarat, Harsh Sanghvi, personally visited the family and assured them that all the accused would be caught and punished.
Notably, the police immediately swung into action on the day of the incident. Within hours the accused were found and arrested from every corner of Gujarat. Kishan’s father and other family members expressed their satisfaction with the action taken by the state government and the police so far. They hoped that the accused would get severe punishment.
The situation in Dhandhuka after Kishan’s murder
Shivabhai put us in touch with Bharatbhai Parmar, a close family relative and a social leader. After the incident, he talked to OpIndia in detail about the situation in Dhandhuka.
Dhandhuka has been sensitive for long
Speaking to OpIndia, Bharatbhai said that Dhandhuka and its surroundings have always been sensitive and vulnerable. Small and large religious skirmishes, debates and conflicts have been happening here very often. The Muslim residents in the area have always tried to prove and increase their supremacy.
Bharatbhai said when Kishan’s murder occurred, the people in the area realised that Islamists and radicals do not forget any minor incident or conversation and remember it for years. They take their time to plan and attack their target off guard.
Sarva Samaj united as Hindu
Bharatbhai said soon after the incident, Hindutva was revived among the area’s people. People from every community were outraged over the brutal murder of Kishan. They unanimously considered it an attack on a Hindu youth and came together to demand justice for him. Since the murder, no other incident has taken place in the area, but the Hindus have become more aware and alert.
Commemoration program held at home minister’s house
On January 21, 2023, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, Astha Foundation, Yuva Blood Donate Group Dhandhuka, Hindu Dharma Sena, Bhagwasena, Karnisena and many other Hindu religious and social organisations organised a commemorative program in connection to the death anniversary of Kishan Bharwad.
Union Minister Mahendra Munjpara, Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghvi, Dhandhuka MLA Kalubhai Dabhi, Gujarat BJP General Secretary Pradipsinh Vaghela and former minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama were present as special guests in this program.
The legal aspect of the case
OpIndia also looked for the current status of the case legally and the current status of the accused. As per our investigation, it was revealed that the issue is still subjudice. All the accused are currently in jail. The lower court and Gujarat High Court have rejected the bail applications of the accused. Their advocate has filed a bail application in the Supreme Court on which the decision is yet to come.
The accused were booked under UAPA, so the possibility of getting bail is negligible. The family of Kishan Bharwad is satisfied with the proceedings so far.
Conspiracies to make a well-planned jihadi attack look like a local skirmish
Notably, the attack on Kishan Bharwad was a jihadi-terrorist attack. However, the Islamists and liberals tried their level best to downplay it as a local clash. However, they failed in their attempts. When the case was still fresh, we revealed that the Islamists were keeping an eye on the people seeking justice for Kishan. Later, they targeted and threatened them in messages and calls. There were plans to attack them as well.
. #IMPORTANT #Alert
— लिंकन सोखडिया (@journolinc) January 28, 2022
पूरा थ्रेड आख़िर तक ध्यान से पढ़े। सभी बाते सबूतके साथ रखूँगा।
हमारे एक हिंदू भाई किशन भरवाड़ पर हाल ही में पीठ पीछे हमला और उसकी हत्या कोई सामान्य दुर्घटना नहीं है बल्कि एक सुनियोजित हमला है।
इसका एक ताजा और जीवंत उदाहरण मैं आपको देता हूं। pic.twitter.com/tUQb6GaUEn
On January 28, 2022, I exposed one such online Islamic syndicate in which we explained how the syndicate was running and targeting Hindu youth one by one. Later the police investigation revealed that Maulana Usmani, the main strategist behind Kishan’s murder, had formed a social media team to lure Muslim youth to join radical Islamic rackets.
The article was first published on OpIndia Gujarati. You can read the article in Gujarati here.
