Indian Muslims bear brunt of tensions with Pakistan, face lynching, police brutality
From mob lynchings and custodial deaths to criminal cases over social media posts, recent incidents reflect deepening hostility against Indian Muslims
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — In the wake of India-Pakistan tensions that stopped short of a full-fledged war, a wave of violent incidents and state actions are reported against Muslims across India.
In the span of just one week, Muslims have been killed by mobs, died in police custody, brutally attacked and charged for expressing dissent online—revealing a growing pattern of communal persecution.
In the eastern state of Jharkhand, a Muslim laborer named Abdul Kalam was lynched to death by a mob in Bokaro district’s Narayanpur area. The assault, which took place on Thursday and was caught on video, shows Kalam being tied up, beaten mercilessly, and verbally abused.
Local sources claim the mob accused him of molesting a tribal girl—a charge that remains unverified. Despite the allegation, the extrajudicial violence has sparked national outrage, with rights groups calling for stronger anti-lynching legislation.
Abdul Kalam, described by neighbors as the sole breadwinner of his household, had been supporting his elderly mother through daily-wage labor after his father’s death.
In another harrowing case, Mohammad Shehzaad, a 30-year-old man from Siwan in Bihar, died in police custody on May 11. Shehzaad had been arrested on May 4 under undisclosed charges and sustained severe injuries while in custody. According to his family, he was brutally tortured and later transferred to a hospital in Patna, where he died after six days.
Authorities have not issued any statement or explanation for his arrest. Shehzaad was employed at Mecca’s Masjid al-Haram and was scheduled to be married just one day before his death.
Meanwhile, in Maharashtra’s coastal Ratnagiri district, a Muslim youth named Badaruddin was assaulted by a Hindutva mob for allegedly supporting Pakistan and criticizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a video that circulated widely on social media, he is seen bleeding and dazed as attackers assault him. According to eyewitnesses, assailants reportedly forced him to chant Hindu religious slogans like Jai Shri Ram.
Elsewhere in Mumbai, a 40-year-old Muslim woman from Malwani was charged by police for sharing a social media post critical of India’s recent military operation “Operation Sindoor.”
The post featured grieving mothers from both India and Pakistan with a caption that read, “When governments make reckless decisions, it’s the innocent on both sides who pay the price, not the ones in power.” The image, which also contained profanity, was reported by a local leader from the militant Hindutva outfit Bajrang Dal. Police filed a case against her under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.
This comes amid a broader crackdown on online dissent. Earlier, MNTV reported multiple arrests of Muslim social media users across the country for allegedly sharing posts critical of the Indian government or sympathetic to Pakistan during the military escalation.
Have Your Say!
Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? Please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@soundvision.com.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a Muslim Network TV’s representative. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
Tweet: @MuslimNetworkTV
We must take charge of our narrative. Research indicates that 92% of their Muslim coverage is negative. Help us change that.
