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New Delhi: Crimes against Muslims have increased in India after the conclusion of the Lok Sabha election on June 4, 2024, Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) said in a report.
These crimes include mob lynching, communal riots, bulldozer (in)justice, and forced eviction, the National Capital based association, which tracks the unjust targeting of downtrodden communities in India, said.
The APCR in its report said there have been 10 lynching incidents between June 7 and July 5, 2024 alone.
"These incidents were reported from Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and West Bengal. Besides, incidents of communal violence were reported from Telangana, Odisha, and Rajasthan", the APCR said.
There have been reports of "targeted bulldozer action" against Muslims in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh where houses of 11 Muslims were demolished after allegations of beef being found in the refrigerators in Madhya Pradesh.
There are also reports of attacks on Muslim establishments and their forced evictions from Himachal Pradesh.
However, despite the First Information Reports (FIRs) being filed in these cases, there has been no arrest made so far, says the APCR report.
Some of the leading Muslim bodies in India like Jamaat-e-Islami Hind and Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind have expressed concern at the rise in targeted hate violence against Muslims following unproven allegations of cow slaughter.
The Muslim bodies point to the clause in the Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, 2023 for mob lynching that prescribes severe punishment extending from life imprisonment to death.
Some left parties like CPI (M) have also echoed similar concerns saying that attacks on Muslims have increased since the Lok Sabha election results were announced.
The Association for Protection of Civil Rights is a non-governmental organization established in 2006 for the protection of human rights of the exploited-deprived sections of society. The body is comprised of advocates, social activities grassroots social workers and others.
The association is headquartered in New Delhi and is currently working in 17 states. The objective of APCR is to educate and inform the public about their civil rights. It has a helpline to counsel and advise the downtrodden segment of society that is subjected to injustice.
The APCR also provides a training programme for social activities to be done at the grass root level.
The APCR makes efforts to protest and safeguard the legal rights of the oppressed. It also provides legal defense to the victims of injustice. The APCR envisages eradicating oppression and injustice from the Indian social scene.
[Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be contacted at syedalimujtaba2007@gmail.com.]
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