Violence has subsided, but communal tensions prevail in Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich. Islamists brutally murdered a 22-year-old Hindu youth Ram Gopal Mishra and numerous Hindus were injured. Among the victims of the riots, there was a 70-year-old man Vinod Kumar Mishra. This retired teacher has told OpIndia and several mainstream media publications, including AajTak and ZeeNews, about provocative announcements made from the mosques to call upon Islamists to attack the Hindus during the Durga Visarjan procession on 13th October 2024.
The victim of the Islamist violence told OpIndia that the Islamists pelted stones at the Durga idol in Maharajganj, causing significant damage to the idol. After this, the Islamists assaulted the DJ. Vinod Kumar Mishra alleged that soon after, announcements were made from the mosques to attack and kill Hindus.
“There were announcements from two mosques, ‘Jo jahan mile, use wahin maar do, kaat do.’ 200-300 Muslims came with weapons and attacked Hindus. I thought they knew me, so they wouldn’t attack me, but they did. They cut the tyres of bikes and burnt the vehicles of Hindus,” Mishra said.
#Watch: "There were announcements from two mosques, 'Jo jahan mile, use wahin maar do, kaat do.' 200-300 Muslims came with weapons and attacked Hindus. I thought they knew me, so they wouldn't attack me, but they did. They cut the tyres of bikes and burnt the vehicles of Hindus."… pic.twitter.com/iaitlWvHDj
— OpIndia.com (@OpIndia_com) October 19, 2024
While the Islamist propagandists remained mum when the mainstream media reported Vinod Kumar Mishra’s claims, however, as soon as OpIndia published, Mishra’s statement, the Islamist ecosystem outrightly dismissed his statement as ‘disinformation’ and tagged the Bahraich Police on X to target OpIndia.
Mohammed Zubair, infamous for dog-whistling against former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and unleashing Islamist bloodhounds against her, rubbished the testimony of an eyewitness of the Bahraich violence as ‘Disinformation’ after Bahraich Police’s response on OpIndia’s tweet bearing a witness’ account of events that unfolded on that fateful day leading to Ram Gopal Mishra’s killing.
Shockingly, Bahraich Police also rejected the statement made by Vinod, who is an eyewitness and a victim of the anti-Hindu violence as a ‘misleading fact’. The Police went on to issue a veiled threat to the media saying that incidents for which evidence is not available should not be broadcast without information. As an X user shared the newspaper cutting of a Jagran report regarding Mishra’s allegations, the Bahraich Police said that a notice is being issued to the publication.
The shocking normalisation of attacks and killings of Hindus
It is rather shocking that Bahraich Police is toeing the line of Islamists who have a record of justifying and normalising the attacks and killings of Hindus since they were offended. OpIndia has been reporting how the Islamo-leftist ecosystem is justifying Ram Gopal Mishra’s brutal killing and normalising violence against Hindus. While Islamist propaganda portal TheWire passed off Ram Gopal Mishra’s murder as an of ‘self-defence’ by Islamists, Newslaundry blamed Hindus for playing ‘provocative’ songs like “Tel laga lo Dabur ka naam mita do Babur ka” to rationalise the Hindu youth’s killing. While Islamist propagandists rationalising the Hindu youth’s murder is not surprising given that they have a history of blaming Hindus for communal violence started by Islamists to the extent that they argue that Hindus should not take their festive processions in ‘Muslim areas’ to avoid ‘provocation’, the Bahraich Police instead of investigating Vinod Kumar Mishra’s allegations, dismissing the same as ‘misleading’ is beyond comprehension and alarming.
The police should not ignore the fact that Vinod Kumar Mishra is an eyewitness and a victim of the riots, his statement warrants a thorough investigation and not outright dismissal as ‘misleading’ or ‘disinformation’. The Bahraich Police threatening media outlets for bringing forth the ordeal of the Hindu victims of the riot is not only an interference in the media’s job to present all the facts and versions of the victims but also raises questions over the police’s seriousness in the matter.
Notably, the Bahraich Police has been severely criticised for its conduct since the beginning. The Yogi government has not only announced a high-level probe into the incident but also removed several police officials. As per reports, the SHO of Hardi police station and in charge of the Mahsi area have been removed. In fact, the eyewitnesses of the incident said that if the police had shown promptness, Ram Gopal Mishra would have been alive.
While the police are taking measures to prevent the spread of fake news, rumours or any material that may threaten the law and order in an unrest-hit area, it does mean that they can suppress the accounts of eyewitnesses of the incident. The victims of the incident have a right to narrate their ordeal before the people through the media. The police should take cognizance of the claims made, investigate the same and act accordingly. If not the eyewitnesses and victims, whose statement should people hear and the police investigate Islamist ‘fact-checkers’, TheWire, and Newslaundry who have already blamed Hindus for the violence and Ram Gopal Mishra for his killing?
The conduct of Bahraich Police in the recent anti-Hindu violence raises the question of whether Bahraich district has been given to TMC-ruled West Bengal on lease. If not so, then why is the Bahraich Police acting like the Kolkata Police, which demonstrates more dexterity in serving notices to social media users for speaking about riots and violence there than in acting against the culprits?
On one hand, the Islamo-leftist ecosystem is coming up with ‘offensive’ songs and slogans and other trivial excuses to justify the attack on Hindus and blaming Ram Gopal Mishra for his brutal killing by Islamists, on the other, Bahraich Police itself is suppressing the Hindu victim’s version of the incident. In such a situation, how can Hindus, particularly the family of deceased Ram Gopal Mishra expect an unfair investigation into the incident and justice? If indeed, announcements were made from the mosques to attack and slaughter Hindus, as alleged by the Hindu victims, the people need to know this.
Stopping the media from reporting this will not uphold the ‘communal harmony’ but will only bolster the motivation of those murderous voices on the loudspeakers of the mosques. The stance taken by the Bahraich Police in this episode is typical of West Bengal, as is anti-Hindu violence; nonetheless, the Yogi government and the Uttar Pradesh Police would like to set a better precedence. Stifling Hindu victims’ voices, threatening the media, and toeing the line of Islamist propagandists will never restore communal harmony; instead, identifying and punishing Islamist rioters will.
