In 2019, a disturbing news arose, a news that could potentially have led to the violence and a huge amount of unrest: six people, wearing skull caps and lungis, were found engaging in stone-pelting during the 2019-20 Anti-CAA movement in West Bengal. A report by The Telegraph revealed that the six individuals had donned lungis and skull caps, which are items of clothing generally identified with Muslims in the region. The Murshidabad police in West Bengal reportedly apprehended one BJP worker and five of his associates after local residents identified them while pelting stones at a train engine. Murshidabad has a significant Muslim population.
Thus, in recent years, there has been a concerning trend in India where individuals with ill intentions are committing crimes while impersonating Muslim names, with the aim of implicating the entire Muslim community. This alarming tactic has found a disturbing backdrop in the rhetoric of certain right-wing groups, which have been quick to label Muslims as criminals. A total number of 9 reported incidents have come to light from investigation by the team at Sabrang India.
Uttarakhand
In October, 2023, a video depicting a man who looked like he was visibly from the Muslim community surfaced where the man was captured hurling derogatory insults and abusive language towards the Brahmins community that recently came to the fore last month. The individual, who identifies as Javed Hussain, is heard claiming that there are no Hindus in Haridwar capable of confronting Muslims, and he goes on to refer to Brahmins from the Hindu community using offensive language. According to Alt News, the video was shared on Twitter, now X, by Sudarshan News journalist Sagar Kumar and his tweet was accompanied by the caption “Save my Uttarakhand” had reportedly garnered over 89,000 views and 4,000 retweets.
Consequently a fact-check conducted by Alt News revealed that the man in the video was a beggar named Dilip Bhagel who was coerced into making these inflammatory statements under the influence of drugs according to the Haridwar police confirmed that Bhagel.
Maharashtra
In February 2023, another disturbing incident unfolded shedding light to how impersonating Muslims to commit crimes has become an insidious and potentially catastrophic trend. A couple from Maharashtra are alleged to have threatened to detonate the Ram Temple currently under construction. According to officials, on February 2 the primary suspect, Anil Ramdas Ghodake made a threatening phone call to an Ayodhya resident, pledging to attack the temple premises. Ghodake had tried to pose as Bilal, who is an actual person and a resident of Delhi, while issuing these threads. Vidya Sagar Dhotre, who is Ghodake’s wife, has also been implicated in the crime. The Ayodhya Police had detained the couple who originally belonged to Maharashtra. The couple’s criminal activities reportedly extended beyond the temple threat; they had a history of impersonating Muslims to deceive and fraud people for financial gains. Their modus operandi involved duping people and subsequently blackmailing them for monetary compensation.
Uttar Pradesh
In November 2022, the police arrested a man who falsely claimed to be Muslim and was attempting to justify the heinous actions of Aftab Poonawala. Aftab Poonawala had been charged with brutally murdering his girlfriend and dismembering her body in Delhi. Vikas Kumar, residing in Bulandshahr, falsely presented himself as one Rashid Khan and commented on the murder, justifying it. However, after his arrest, Vikas Kumar admitted that he had not anticipated the magnitude of the consequences his actions would have. It was further revealed that Vikas Kumar had a criminal record, with prior cases registered against him, related to theft and illegal possession of firearms, underscoring the need for vigilance and caution in evaluating such incidents.
Karnataka
In July 2022, Kodagu police detained a man for posting offensive content involving a Hindu goddess while pretending to be a Muslim man, according to officials. The accused had created a fraudulent account under the guise of a Muslim name and proceeded to post derogatory and offensive messages. These posts specifically targeted the revered goddess Cauvery, held in high regard by the Kodava community. The man’s actions led to heightened tensions to the point where several organisations issued bandh calls in condemnation of these provocative posts.
Ironically, such instances have even hoodwinked right-wing organisations. In an incident in 2022 several right wing organisations complained about a man named Mushtaq Ali who consistently propagated hate speeches and divisive content against the Hindu community. Following these complaints, the Bagalkot Police apprehended a man who they discovered was operating a Facebook account under a Muslim identity and through a digital trail, the police identified the culprit as 31-year-old Siddharoodha Shrikanth Nirale, a resident of Gokal taluk in Belagavi district. Nirale had even issued threats to BJP MLC D.S. Arun. The report highlights that that there are scores of social media users operating under false identities who disseminate hate, communalism, and misinformation not just for that reason per se, but more so in order to besmirch relations between communities.
Another case comes to fore: in September, 2018, a co-founder of the right-wing propaganda portal, Postcard News, Mahesh Hegde took to his Twitter account to share data that claimed that a significant majority of rape cases in India were committed by Muslims. Earlier in March of the same year, Mahesh Vikram Hegde was arrested by the Bengaluru police for allegedly falsely attributing a Jain monk’s injury in an accident to an attack by a Muslim youth. Hegde has faced charges related to promoting enmity between different groups, deliberately insulting religious beliefs, and criminal conspiracy under applicable sections of the Indian Penal Code. His claim was further debunked by the police who stated that the monk, Mayank Sagar, had sustained injuries in a minor accident and not due to any targeted assault. A 2022 UN report highlights how Islamophobia is rife on the internet with most of the anti-Muslim content coming from India, US, and the UK. In India, a mere 14.83% of anti-Muslim tweets are successfully removed online. What these findings supplemented with the stories above reveal is that negative stereotypes play a significant role in fuelling hate against the Muslim community and can be instrumental in perpetuating further hate against a community; these instances of impersonation seem to be doing that clearly.
Talgram, Uttar Pradesh
In August, 2023 in what seems like an attempt to stoke tensions and entrench the stereotype of Muslims as criminals, one Chanchal Tripathi, from Talgram town in Uttar Pradesh sought to fix personal grievances against a Station House Officer (SHO), Hari Shyam Singh. By luring a butcher Mansoor Kasai with Rs 10,000, Tripathi orchestrated the strategic placement of meat within a Shiva temple, thus triggering communal tensions and which led to the torching of community structures. The incident, which led to the arrest of 17 individuals, further sheds light on the dangerous consequences of impersonation and manipulation have on worsening social divisions and prejudices; these consequences do not seem like a collateral but instead are an intended objective and motive of such duplicitous actions.
Kerala
As far as back in 2017, people associated with BJP members were implicated in trying to criminalise Muslims in an incident in Kerala when for nearly a month, meat and food waste was secretly deposited within the temple premises during nightfall. Simultaneously, rumours that falsely implicated Muslims in these acts were circulated during the day. Further investigation revealed that a van reportedly associated with the Kerala Catering company which is owned by BJP leader Gireesh, was used in transporting the waste. Later on as the investigation progressed, BJP leader Gireesh’s son was apprehended while he was in the act of disposing of the meat, revealing the sinister plot at hand.
Uttar Pradesh
In 2015, Mohammed Akhlaq was lynched to death by a mob after a local temple falsely claimed that his family had consumed beef. This incident was the reported start of how allegations related to beef consumption have ignited communal violence against Muslims in various parts of the country. During this period, unsettling images circulated on social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp where a burkha-clad person was reportedly seen throwing beef at a temple. These images were accompanied by a Facebook post, alleging that the person in question was an RSS activist who had disguised himself in a burkha while desecrating temples in Azamgarh by throwing beef. The person was reported paraded in public to showcase his real identity.
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