In Agra, a man named Zubair terrorized Murali Vihar Colony by targeting homes where saffron flags had been installed by residents. According to a report by Dainik Jagran, he set fire to cars parked outside such houses using a lighter, creating terror among residents. More than 200 houses were affected, with cars suddenly catching fire late at night.
Residents were alerted by car sensors or neighbours banging on their gates. Despite efforts to extinguish the flames, several cars were wholly burnt. The incidents occurred between 1:57 am and 2:24 am on Friday, with the accused moving around the colony.
Zubair targeted cars with flags of Shri Ram on them but did not set fire to vehicles parked outside houses without these flags. He was later caught and claimed to be ‘drunk’. Police investigated his background but found no prior criminal record. He is a resident of Panipat, where he lives with his wife, and has 2 children and 4 grand-children. His wife mentioned that he had gone to visit a friend Abdul Rauf in Agra, and Rauf claimed that Zubair had consumed liquor that night.
Residents though raised some pertinent questions regarding Zubair’s actions, questioning why he targeted only those houses where saffron Sri Ram flags were installed? They also wonder how he managed to set fire to cars at different locations in a short period, raising suspicions of the possible involvement of others. The accused made inconsistent statements after being caught, leading the residents to believe he was trained to mislead investigators.
Many such anti-Hindu hate crimes are brushed under the carpet as ‘routine law & order issues’ with the perpetrator being portrayed as mentally disturbed, drunk etc. But authorities should investigate Zubair’s affiliations with Islamist organizations, find out which Jamaat/mosque he attended, whether he was a Deobandi, Barelvi, Tablighi to understand the root cause of how radicalization takes place leading to real-world crimes. Unless the religious teaching by radical maulvis and clerics is curbed, such crimes will not cease.
