On 13th October a Muslim mob attacked the visarjan procession of Goddess Durga idol and viciously killed a 22-year-old young man named Ram Gopal Mishra in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh. Many other devotees were critically wounded in the attack which was launched from the residence of prime accused Abdul Hamid who is also considered the brain behind the violence. When OpIndia gathered ground information about the incident, it was discovered that the land where the house now stands was formerly owned by a Hindu around thirty years ago. Today, the same Hindu family is harassed by Abdul Hamid.
The anti-Hindu riot took place in the Maharajganj market which connects Sitapur-Bahraich road to Mahsi market. The procession also passes through this route traditionally every year. Maharajganj market was originally famous for the jewellery business. Abdul Hamid also worked with gold and silver and earlier lived in a house within the market. Ram Prasad Jaiswal then used to own the majority of the land on the main road. Santosh Tiwari, a neighbour of Abdul Hamid who was injured in the unrest, told OpIndia that about 30 years ago the latter purchased the land from Ram Prasad Jaiswal to build a house on it.
Ram Prasad Jaiswal had proposed to sell his land situated on the main road for money. Some Hindus, including Santosh Tiwari, had bought a portion of this land at the time. Abdul Hamid also declared his intention to have a part of this property as soon as he learned about the sale. Abdul Hamid referred to himself as secular at the time, spoke politely and greeted Hindus in accordance with their traditions.
According to a local citizen who spoke on condition of anonymity, other members of the Hindu community then appealed to Ram Prasad Jaiswal to give them his land to someone else and not Hamid. He, however, paid more than the other bidders and obtained a sizable parcel of the land registered in his name. Now his place sits between the houses of Santosh Tiwari and Ram Prasad Jaiswal.
Ram Prasad Jaiswal has now passed away. He had three sons, one of whom also died. His other two sons Pappu Jaiswal and Moon Jaiswal live in separate parts of the house which are adjacent to the wall of Abdul Hamid’s residence. Pappu repairs tyre punctures while Moon is in the readymade garments and footwear business. The latter also acknowledged that his father made a mistake and shouldn’t have sold the land to Abdul Hamid irrespective of his compulsion.
According to Moon, he and his brother reside in different areas of their remaining land, but Abdul Hamid frequently harassed the duo. We noticed an extensive quantity of water accumulated in front of Pappu’s puncture repair shop and after inquiring learned that Abdul Hamid and his sons are to blame for all of this. They have also repeatedly threatened Moon who expressed, “What has happened before cannot be undone now.”
A Hindu family from Maharajganj market has been featured in the mainstream media for the past few days as the government has issued a demolition notice for their home, along with the properties of Abdul Hamid and a few other Muslims. The notice has been sent to Moon and even his brother Pappu. They have emptied the goods from their shops. A video regarding the notice is being shared vigorously by leftist, socialist, Islamist and Congress handles on social media.
#बहराइच_हिंसा में इस हिन्दू परिवार के मकान पर भी PWD ने नोटिस चस्पा किया है! अब यह परिवार बुलडोजर चलने की आशंका से भयभीत है!
— 🇮🇳 Vishal JyotiDev Agarwal (@JyotiDevSpeaks) October 20, 2024
विडंबना देखिये कि इनके मामले में सारे हिन्दू हितैषी मौन हैं!#BahraichViolenceUpdatepic.twitter.com/hplalLC8Do
Abdul Hamid’s other Hindu neighbour, who works for the government, spoke to us behind the camera and unveiled that Abdul Hamid wielded his gun to threaten others. According to what we were told, the latter had threatened to shoot the victim’s elderly father during an incident that happened a few years ago. The elderly man retaliated at the time, saying he would not be intimidated by such threats.
Additionally, Ram Gopal Mishra was murdered at Abdul Hamid’s home, most likely using the same licensed firearm that he had been using to terrorize the local Hindu population. The Hindu person also seeks an investigation into the time, date and reason along with the identity of the officer who gave the weapon’s license to him. People further asserted that the permitted firearm was merely a display for Abdul Hamid since if a thorough check is conducted, a stock of illicit weapons can be unearthed from that market.
Many locals told OpIndia that Abdul Hamid’s older son is an international criminal with ties to anti-national groups. People reportedly disclosed to have witnessed numerous police raids at Abdul Hamid’s home over the past ten years. We were also informed that he had evicted his older son from will to avoid legal issues. Though people said his son continued to visit their home despite the alleged eviction. He also got married somewhere in Nepal. People suspect Abdul Hamid of having a hand in his son’s black money because of how swiftly his wealth had grown as compared to other goldsmiths in the market. They also voiced that the father of an international criminal cannot get a gun license without jugaad (unlawful/non-conventional way).
