On March 19, disturbing news emerged from the state of Uttar Pradesh as a salon owner reportedly killed two minor boys. The incident happened on Tuesday evening in Baba Colony, when the accused, identified as 22-year-old Mohammed Sajid, entered a house and attacked three brothers, aged between 12 to 8 years old, with a knife. As per media reports, accused Sajid was a neighbour to contractor Vinod Thakur, whose sons he attacked. While two of the brothers namely Ayush (aged 12) and Ahaan (aged 8), died in the attack. It had been reportedly that accused Sajid slit the throats of the two children with a knife.
Thakur’s third son, Piyush, was also attacked by accused Sajid with a knife, however he managed to escape the attack. As per a report of Livemint, the surviving brother has now become an eyewitness in the double murder case.
A report of ANI provided the narration that the surviving brother, namely Piyush, gave of the incident that took place and how he was able to save his own life. In the report, he has been quoted as saying, “The man from the salon had come here. He took my brothers upstairs; I don’t know why he killed them. He tried to attack me, too, but I pushed away his knife, pushed him away and ran down. I suffered injuries in my hand and head…Two people (accused) had come here.”
The video can be viewed here:
#WATCH | Budaun (Uttar Pradesh) Double Murder Case | Surviving brother of the two deceased children and eyewitness to the incident says, “The man from salon had come here. He took my brothers upstairs, I don’t know why he killed them. He tried to attack me too, but I pushed away… pic.twitter.com/GlNfJkRfKC
— ANI (@ANI) March 20, 2024
From the morning of March 20, Wednesday, as reports were published in different sections of the media, communally inflammatory posts flooded social media. Since the accused was a Muslim while the victims were Hindu, it did not take much time for ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) to see hashtags such as #रमजान_हॉरर (Ramzan Horror) and #HindusUnderAttack start trending.
Official reaction
As per the report of Hindustan Times, SSP Badaun Alok Priyadarshi narrated the said incident by stating the following: “The accused Sajid entered the house yesterday at around 7:30pm and went to the terrace where the children were playing. He attacked the two children and murdered them. He then came down where the crowd tried to hold him back but he escaped…Police teams swung into action when they got to know that the accused had escaped.”
Accused encountered, no reason behind the killings ascertained:
The tragic double murder led to an uproar by the local residents. As per multiple media reports, the residents set shops on fire as they demanded immediate arrest of Sajid. Later, as the police tried to apprehend the accused, a retaliatory firing reportedly ensued, as a result of which the accused was shot dead in a police encounter.
The statement of Bareilly Inspector-General of Police Rakesh Kumar was provided by ANI, wherein he had stated “Today evening, an unfortunate incident took place in which two children were killed. The police reached the spot, and the accused tried to escape. We chased the accused. He fired at the police and was killed in retaliatory fire. The accused died on the spot. The police are investigating the case.”
It is essential to note that the reason behind the accused Sajid attacking the three children has not been ascertained yet. As per a report in Livemint, the father of the victims has provided that he is not aware why the accused had attacked his sons. However, SSP Badaun Alok Priyadarshi said that accused Sajid demanded money from the father.
“In the FIR, the family of the deceased children has also named the brother of the accused, Javed. Teams are working to find him, and he will be arrested soon. According to the family, the accused had demanded ₹5,000 from the father of the deceased children,” the SSP Badaun told ANI.
Communal colour given to criminal incident:
As soon as the news of the double murder and the name of the accused came forth, communally inflammatory posts started doing round on social media. Since the accused was a Muslim while the victims were Hindu, it did not take much time for ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) to see hashtags such as #रमजान_हॉरर (Ramzan Horror) and #HindusUnderAttack start trending. The religious backgrounds of the parties involved served as the perfect opportunity for the bots and faceless trolls on ‘X’ to spread their divisive ideology, which was then picked up by far-right influencers and IT cells. A polarising environment was once more created wherein the criminal deeds by one Muslim was used to bash the entire religious minority community.
Calls for boycott of the Muslim community and provocative statements encouraging violence against the community started doing rounds. Some examples are as follows:
“Completely Boycott- Muslim barber, Muslim cobbler, Muslim (vegetable) vendor, Muslim fruit-seller, Muslim plumber, Muslim electrician, Muslim driver, Muslim maid, Muslim tailor, Muslim shop, Muslim Friend. They’re monsters, don’t endanger your life.”
The post can be viewed here:
Disclaimer- the original post contained the faces of the minor children, which have been blurred by our team in view of the law.
“The difference between us and them is clear. Wake up Hindus, Wake up #Badaun #bloodbath #HindusUnderAttack”
Disclaimer- the original post contained the faces of the minor children, which have been blurred by our team in view of the law.
“A Hindu can’t kill anyone like this while they will be fasting or during any of their festivals and then drink the blood. Are we living with Animals? Gandhi this is all your mistake, which these 2 innocents repaid as an interest.”
“She helped Javed and Sajid when one of the wife was pregnant. She even gave money to them for the delivery. But Islamists slit the throat of her kids (Piyush(14) and Honey(6)). All this is happening when Ramzan is going on. #HindusUnderAttack #Encounter”
She helped Javed and Sajid when one of the wife was pregnant. She even gave money to them for the delivery.
But Islamists slit the throat of her kids ( Piyush(14) and Honey(6) ).
All this is happening when Ramzan is going on.#HindusUnderAttack #Encounter pic.twitter.com/5r41V47G3y— Farrago Abdullah Parody (@abdullah_0mar) March 20, 2024
Even Muslim women were bashed for their clothes by some.
“This photo is enough to explain why incidents like Badaun are happening. There is still time, get into the habit of voting otherwise these three women will also be seen in burqa. Can anyone tell me, what kind of brotherhood this is? #HindusUnderAttack #Encounter”
This photo is enough to explain why incidents like Badaun are happening.
There is still time, get into the habit of voting otherwise these three women will also be seen in burqa.
Can anyone tell me, what kind of brotherhood this is?#HindusUnderAttack #Encounter pic.twitter.com/1Ds1B2bmnU
— Akanksha Parmar (@iAkankshaP) March 20, 2024
Related:
As the date for the general assembly election approaches, hate crimes in India continue
Uncovering Historical Truths: Were the Mughals anti-Hindu?