On 27th August, a video of a couple being harassed went viral on social media. A man and a woman traveling on a bike were verbally abused and harassed, reportedly by 3 minors. The accused individuals heckled and abused the young man driving the bike for taking a burka-clad girl on his bike. According to the police, the incident occurred on 26th August in the Jubilee Hills Police Station area.
Sir, a case has been registered, persons involved were apprehended, necessary legal action will be taken.
— SHO JUBILEE HILLS (@shojubileehills) August 29, 2023
The police have apprehended three minors in the matter after a case was booked on Monday. The couple in the video is yet to be identified. In the video, the three accused were heard asking the bike-riding young man about the girl sitting as a pillion rider on the bike. They asked him where he was taking her. When he questioned what was their problem, they started abusing him. The duo appeared to be interfaith as the woman was covered in an Islamic burka and the man had difficulty speaking and understanding Hyderabadi Urdu.
The man then said she was his friend, after which it appeared the accused touched the girl as she was heard raising her voice. The three minors asked her to get down from the bike. The police said later they left the place, and one of them uploaded the video on social media.
The man on the bike tells the harassers that the woman is his friend and they are going to Golconda. The minors were heard repeatedly abusing and making threatening gestures to the man.
A case was registered in the matter at Jubilee Hills Police Station. In a post on X, the concerned SHO said the three accused were apprehended, and their parents were notified. Further investigation into the matter was underway.
‘Bhagwa love trap’ conspiracy theory and its aftermath
In recent times, a new menace of Islamist mobs attacking Hindu-Muslim couples has come to light. Multiple videos have surfaced on social media where extremist elements are seen harassing, abusing, molesting, and physically assaulting Hindu men and Muslim women under the garb of combating ‘Bhagwa Love Trap.’
It is based on a baseless theory about Hindu outfits, supposedly training Hindu youth to lure, and entrap Muslim women and turn them into non-Muslims. Opindia has reported that an Islamic cleric by the name of Sajjad Nomani has been making such outrageous claims since 2021.
The conspiracy theory soon took the form of a social media hashtag, which Islamists used to share videos of random hijab-wearing Muslim women and their male Hindu friends/ acquaintances and partners without their consent.
The posts are often accompanied by emotional messages and seek public help in identifying the couples. Soon after, social media was rife with videos of Islamist mobs ambushing random Hindu-Muslim couples and misbehaving with them.
This would then be followed by heated arguments, physical assault on Hindu men, and even molestation of Muslim women. The victims have been targeted on roads, restaurants, eateries, and even hotels.
Based on local reports and social media videos, OpIndia has compiled a total of 50 cases (here, here and here) where extremists attacked Hindu men and Muslim women under the pretext of the ‘Bhagwa love trap.’
Opindia has recently published an investigative report highlighting how Islamists are using Whatsapp groups to target Hindu-Muslim couples.
