In a disturbing incident reported from Uttar Pradesh, India, a 17-year-old Hindu girl was kidnapped, raped, and murdered by a gang of Muslim men after she refused to convert to Islam.
The minor, a resident of Goriya Village, which is located in Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh, was reported missing on Saturday, January 25, 2025. Her family started searching for her as soon as they realized that she had disappeared, but when they failed to find her after hours of searching, they approached the local police station and filed a complaint. In their statement, they revealed that a Muslim youth was pursuing the girl. They also named his friends, who were also listed as suspects in the report.
As the word about the girl’s disappearance got around, Hindu organizations also got involved in the case. Following a police investigation, it was discovered that the minor was with the suspect named Asif.
The girl was raped and pressured to convert to Islam. When she refused to comply with their demand for religious conversion, Asif and his companions killed her. They then dumped her body in a forest about 500 kilometers away from Lakhimpur. Authorities were able to track down the whereabouts of the suspects; they were able to catch Asif, the primary suspect, following an encounter in Lakhimpur. Cops have also recovered CCTV footage of the incident.
During interrogation, he admitted to having raped and murdered the underage girl and dumped her body in the woods. The police have retrieved the body and sent it for post-mortem. The accused had traveled to Dehradun from Lakhimpur. Police reached the location as provided by the arrested suspect and took his other accomplices, including Salman, Raja, and Zubair, into custody.
While further investigations are underway, Hindu organizations organized protests against such instances. But there are minimal hopes of such protests bringing about any positive changes in society or ensuring any safety for Hindu girls. Uttar Pradesh is governed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is allegedly a majoritarian party accused of victimizing Muslim youth. If Muslim youths are raping and murdering Hindu minors in Uttar Pradesh, what are the chances of Hindu girls finding any assurance in states where political leaders are directly and openly threatening them with rape and dire consequences if they observe their religious practices?
On Sunday, February 2, Hindu students celebrated the Saraswati Puja, an occasion dedicated to Goddess Saraswati for attaining success in academics, arts, and other fields of knowledge. However, students at Jogesh Chandra Chaudhuri Law College in Kolkata accused Muslim political leader Mohammad Shabbir Ali of intimidating them into being afraid to hold any celebrations. They have charged Ali, a prominent Trinamool Congress (TMC) student leader who also serves as the General Secretary of the West Bengal State Trinamool Chhatra Parishad, of allegedly issuing threats of disrupting the celebration of Saraswati Puja on campus.
Students allege that Ali terrorized them with threats of rape and murder if they proceeded with the rituals and ceremonies dedicated to the Hindu goddess. They have filed a complaint with the Charumarket police station and the college principal, Pankaj Roy. Students also highlighted that this institution holds special significance as the alma mater of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is also the leader of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC). But the TMC has been ruling the state of West Bengal since 2016, and their excessive pandering to the Muslim majority is a well-known and well-documented affair. During their reign, millions of Bangladeshi Muslims infiltrated into Indian territory across the porous Indo-Bangladesh border. There are several reports suggesting how Bangladeshi Muslims with forged Indian IDs have influenced the demography of the Indian state. The state government has placed Muslims throughout the ranks of government agencies, including key positions in the police force.
It is thus imperative for the Muslims that Shabbir Ali enjoy a powerful position in the state, which he is using to victimize the Hindus and enforce restrictions on Hindu celebrations. One student stated, “These outsiders are extortionists. They want us not to organize Saraswati Puja. They have abused us with the choicest of expletives and threatened us with assault and rape.”
Another one expressed frustration, saying, “We have the right to organize Puja. Why are they stopping us? We are being told that if we perform Saraswati Puja, they will kill us when we pass through Anwar Shah Road. They are extorting money.”
Students allege that Shabbir has threatened to send men to the girls’ hostel if they hold any puja, and his associates are exerting their influence to create a hostile atmosphere within the campus. The situation is said to be so tense that even the principal is scared to venture onto the college grounds, which makes the condition in West Bengal just as bad as that of the Hindu teachers in Bangladesh who were forced to resign by Muslims.
Students, demanding action against Ali and his men, are calling for an end to the intimidation and a fair resolution that upholds their right to organize religious celebrations. As investigations continue, the matter has sparked widespread concern over the influence of Islam in secular educational institutions.
(The article was published on Jihadwatch.org on February 02, 2025 and has been reproduced here)
