Mumbai: In the second cow-related hate crime recorded in 2018, two Muslim men were injured when a mob turned violent in Nawalidh village of Koderma district, Jharkhand, on April 17, 2018, on the suspicion that bovine meat had been served at a wedding in the neighbourhood the previous night.
This is the 80th cow-related hate crime recorded since 2010, according to an IndiaSpend database that records such violence. The latest attack in Jharkhand–the seventh such incident to be reported from the state–took place in the Domchanch area near the Koderma police station in Koderma district, Jharkhand.
Source: IndiaSpend database
Across India, the state now ranks third, along with Karnataka, which reported the first cow-related hate crime of 2018, and Gujarat, for such violence. Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, with 10 incidents each, reported the most crimes.
In March 2018, nine months after a meat trader was lynched in Ramgarh district, Jharkhand, 11 of 12 accused in the murder were sentenced to life imprisonment, as the Hindu reported on March 21, 2018.
Since 2010–the start of our database–29 persons have been killed and at least 235 persons injured in bovine-related hate crime. Over 53% of the victims in these attacks and 86% of those killed were Muslim, an analysis of the database showed. Most of these–97% of all incidents–have occurred since the Bharatiya Janata Party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed power in May 2014. Only one incident each was reported in 2012 and 2013.
Geographically, from 2012 to date, most cow-related hate crimes–64%, or 51 of 80 incidents–were reported in north India. Since 2015, the attacks spread towards the east and south of the mainland at an increased pace.
Source: IndiaSpend database
(Saldanha is an assistant editor with IndiaSpend.)
Courtesy: India Spend