The incident took place on Friday morning, November 24, when Hashmi boarded a bus from the Civil Lines area and got into an argument with the conductor, Rajesh Kumar, over the fare. Hashmi accused Kumar of making derogatory remarks about Islam and Prophet Muhammad and attacked him with a cleaver. He then fled from the spot, leaving Kumar bleeding profusely. Hashmi, an engineering student, who later uploaded the video that has drawn sharp criticisms and retaliatory hate on social media platforms, especially ‘X’ formerly twitter.
Harikesh Vishwakarma, the bus conductor, who had sustained a deep cut on his neck, was rushed to the Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital, where he is now said to be out of danger. In his own defence, he told the police that he did not say anything offensive to Hashmi and that he was attacked without any reason or provocation.
Meanwhile, after committing the crime, Hashmi reportedly ran into a college campus to hide, where he made a video and posted it online. In the video, he confessed to the crime and said that he was avenging the honour of his religion. He also mentioned the names of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the video. He was seen holding the cleaver that he used to slash the conductor.
Reportedly, another video, taken from inside the bus, showed Hashmi running outside with the cleaver in his hand. The Prayagraj police traced the student, Hashmi’s location from his mobile phone and nabbed him inside the campus premises.
While the police attempted to recover the weapon, he allegedly fired at them with a pistol that he had concealed, stated the police. The police responded by shooting at him in the leg. Hashmi then got injured and was taken to a hospital, where he is undergoing treatment. The police recovered both the knife and the mobile phone which Hashmi used to record video after the incident.
Hashmi has been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including attempt to murder and promoting enmity between different groups.
Thereafter, recounting the incident to sections of the media, bus driver, Mangla Yadav, said that he heard a noise and stopped the bus immediately. The video, which Hashmi recorded after the attack, has gone viral on social media and not only drew condemnation from various quarters but attracted retaliatory hate against Islam and Muslims.
Abhinav Tyagi, the Deputy Commissioner of Police of Prayagraj’s Yamunanagar area, told the media that Hashmi is a first-year student at the United Engineering College and lives in the Hajiganj area of Prayagraj. His father, Mohammed Yunus, runs a poultry farm in the city. “Police will investigate Hashmi’s background and links to any extremist groups,” said Tyagi.
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