MP: Hindutva Activists ‘Ransack, Plunder’ Muslim Man, Kin’s House Over Facebook Post

The men had been asking for a Shahdol resident’s house to be razed over a post he had allegedly made against a Hindu deity and over which he had been arrested. Angry when police refused, the mob rampaged through the houses.

Bhopal: Nearly a hundred men associated with Hindutva groups allegedly attacked and plundered the houses of three Muslim families in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday, August 16, after a Muslim man who was their relative reportedly made an objectionable social media post against a Hindu deity.

The post was allegedly made by one Baidul Kadir who was arrested on the day itself. The incident left the atmosphere at Dhanpuri town of the state’s Shahdol district significantly tense.

The mob is learned to have attacked the three houses after district authorities refused to demolish Kadir’s house following his arrest. There had been protests at one of the major squares of the town, calling for the razing of Kadir’s house.

According to police, Baidul Kadir is a resident of Purani Basti of Dhanpuri. He allegedly made an ‘objectionable post’ on Facebook against a Hindu deity on Tuesday morning. As the post went viral, a group of men belonging to Hindutva groups gathered at Dhanpuri police station, where they filed a written compliant by afternoon, demanding stern action against Kadir for ‘hurting religious sentiments.’

Acting on the complaint of one Anil Singh Sengar (38), a man associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh as per his Facebook profile, police booked Kadir under sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 295-A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code and also invoked Section 66-A of the Information Technology Act. He was arrested soon afterwards on August 16 itself.

“Since it was an objectionable post, police promptly lodged an FIR and rounded up the accused,” said Mukesh Vaishya, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Shahdol, told The Wire over the phone.

He further said that police have recommended that the stringent National Security Act (NSA) be invoked against Kadir as over half a dozen cases have been lodged against him at various police stations of Shahdol.

Requesting anonymity, one of Kadir’s relatives said that the Facebook profile which had purportedly posted the objectionable content against a Hindu deity had been inactive since 2020.

“The last post he made from that profile was in 2020. The police told Kadir’s family the IP address from which it was posted. It is not matching with his mobile phone’s IP address. This points towards a conspiracy. We have faith in police investigation and truth will prevail soon,” he said.

Hours later, a mob of over 100 men blocked a major square of the town – Azad Chowk – demanding the demolition of Kadir’s home. As officials tried to convince the mob, a group of men armed with sticks and rods not only attacked Kadir’s house but also ransacked the two houses of his relatives who live adjacent to him.

One of the attacked houses was built under the PM Awas Yojana, police officials said.

The video of the attack, which has been circulated multiple times on social media, shows that the attackers turned the house upside down. They demolished the roofs and rampaged around the house.

An eyewitness of the attack says when the mob was moving towards Kadir’s house, his family members and neighbours ran away from their houses sensing an attack. Subsequently, the mob had a free rein to steal jewellery and money from their houses. They also threw household items into a well located nearby. The witness says this happened in the presence of police officials.

Speaking to The Wire, D.C. Sagar, Additional Director General of Police, Shahdol, said, “Every citizen has right to protest but attacking someone’s home and ransacking it can’t be allowed. The law will prevail. Therefore, town inspector of Dhanpuri police station, Narbat Singh Dhurve, was shunted out and an FIR has been lodged against the attackers.”

“A flag march has been carried out keeping law and order in mind. In addition to that, district administration is in touch with members of both communities to prevent any untoward incidents and security has been beefed up,” Sagar added.

On the complaint of one Mumtaz Begum, police have booked 12 named and 50 unidentified men of Hindutva groups under sections 147, 148, 427, 452 and other sections of the IPC, but no arrest has been made.

(With inputs from Kashif Kakvi)