On Wednesday (14th February 14), a Muslim mob attacked a Hindu family and killed a man in Prantij in the Sabarkantha district of Gujarat. In this dispute over the transaction of money, the mob rushed to the area with a significant Hindu population and created a stir. The man trying to mediate during this scuffle was dragged away and killed by the Muslim mob. The police have registered an FIR against 17 people in this case. OpIndia reached out to the victim’s family and tried to get detailed information about the entire incident.
Subhashbhai, the younger brother of the deceased Rajubhai Bhoi, spoke to OpIndia. Describing the incident, he said, “My brother had nothing to do with the original incident. Our neighbour had a fight with some people from the local Muslim community over financial transactions. Even a week ago, he faced trouble. On 14th February, he was beaten up in the market by the accused. After that, they also came home and created a ruckus.”
‘Muslim mob dragged my brother into the dark and killed him.’
Subhash further said about his brother’s murder, “While they were beating up our neighbour, my elder brother only said, ‘Why are you beating him?’. As soon as my brother said this, the mob got agitated and rushed to kill my brother with swords, pipes, and hockey sticks. My brother had intervened to mediate in the scuffle. They were 100-200 people and they dragged my brother away. Taking him about 100 feet away from the house in the dark, they beat him indiscriminately. My brother was strangled to death after he was hit by a pipe.”
‘They didn’t even let us take his corpse; they pelted stones at that time.’
It is learned that even after the murder of Rajubhai, the frenzied mob did not calm down. According to the brother of the deceased, after Rajubhai’s murder, the Muslim mob did not let the family take away the corpse. They were continuously pelting stones. Subhash further said, “My brother died on the spot. When many others tried to go to collect his body, they started pelting stones. It was raining stones so no one could reach my brother’s dead body. Finally, another of our brothers reached there, escaping from the stones somehow, and saw that my elder brother was lying dead there.”
‘Most Hindus fled from here; they want us to go as well.’
Subhash said, “There is a population of Muslims all around us here. We have to use the road passing through their area for commutation. Earlier, hindus used to live here, but due to the torture of these people, most Hindus have fled from here. At present, only the Bhoi community is living here and we are also harassed while passing by the way.”
He also alleged that Hindu boys were being beaten up by local Muslims by making them stand on the road and hurling rude abuses at them. He said, “With such torture, they tell us that all of us will have to vacate the houses from here and give those to Muslims. Our condition here is very bad. All this torture is done to get our place vacated.”
He said that 72 hours after the murder, only four persons have been arrested so far, while the rest are absconding. “We demand that the accused be arrested immediately and our brother be given justice,” he said, demanding the government and the administration. However, when OpIndia contacted the police, it was found that five persons have been arrested in the incident so far, while the search for the rest is currently underway.
According to him, after the incident, stones were pelted from the Muslim settlement on Thursday as well. The incident took place when the police personnel deployed in the area were present there. Officials also rushed to the spot as soon as the incident was reported. However, the victim’s family has alleged that they did not take any action later. Alleging that the police were scared of the accused, the brother of the deceased Rajubhai said, “We were simply told that police will take action, but nothing happened. The police are scared of them.”
Hindu organisations give a 48-hour ultimatum to arrest the accused
After the killing of a Hindu man in Prantij, there is anger among the local Hindus. On the other hand, Hindu organisations are also standing by the victim’s family. Speaking to Opindia, Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Hitendra Singh Rajput said, “We have tried to share their grief by visiting the victim’s family. We are with them to ensure justice for the family. In addition, we have given a 48-hour ultimatum to the police administration. If the accused are not arrested, all Hindu organisations, including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, will take to the streets and demand justice.” He expressed his displeasure towards the police administration and said bangles would also be distributed at the police station if satisfactory work was not done.
The Hindu leader said that the demography of the area where the incident took place was also worrisome. He said that Hindus are fleeing from here and due to this, there have been repeated demands to impose the Disturbed Areas Act here. “Once again, we demand that the Disturbed Areas Act be implemented here immediately. If justice is not done, then there is a plan to launch a fierce agitation in the coming time.”
What was the case?
On February 14, 2024, a mob of the Muslim community stormed the Khodiyar Kuwa area of Prantij. One person was killed when the mob attacked a Hindu family over a money transaction. The deceased was identified as Raju Bhoi. The police registered a case against 17 people and the rest of the mob.
In this case, the police have registered a case against Ayaz Qureshi, Munaf Qureshi, Ayub Qureshi, Rashid Miyan, Imran Mian Qureshi, Maqbool Miyan Qureshi, Jani Kamruddin, Rais Miyan Mehboob Khan, Malek, Sameer, Manan Haroon, Nisar’s brother, Rafiq Bhatti, Nisar Miyan, Babu Akbar, Yunus Miyan and Firoz Mian. A case has been registered under sections 302, 323, 143, 147, 148, 149, 504, 506(2), and 427 of the IPC and section 135 of the GPA and further proceedings have been initiated.
