The fact finding and solidarity committee that looked into the murder of Arbaz Mulla, a Muslim youth in Khanapur, who was said to have been killed by Sri Ram Sena Hindustan members for falling in love with a Hindu girl, has urged civil society members and citizens to unite against hate crimes.
The young man’s decapitated body was found thrown on the railway lines, with his hands tied in the back, near Desur village in Belagavi district on September 28. Two days before that, Sri Ram Sena Hindustan leaders had held a meeting to resolve the issue and asked the lovers to stop seeing each other.
Then, 12 days later, the police arrested 10 persons, including the girl’s parents, on the charge of the youth’s murder.
The police said that it was a case of supari murder and that the girl’s parents had paid ₹10 lakh to Sri Ram Sena Hindustan leaders to eliminate the boy.
The boy’s mother, however, has maintained that it was a hate crime, as her child was targetted only because he belonged to the minority community.
Sri Ram Sena Hindustan founder Ramakanth Konduskar has denied that his associates killed the youth. However, he told The Hindu that his organisation “proudly interferes” to stop such inter-faith relationships.
“The report by the fact finding committee is an appeal to fellow citizens to come together to not only ensure justice for Arbaz Mulla but also to respond comprehensively to the rising communal politics. It is an appeal to launch a broad-based campaign to ensure justice for Muslim, Christian and other persecuted brothers and sisters, to stand in solidarity with each other and especially, with victims of Hindu nationalist violence and work towards rebuilding social harmony in the State,” the committee members said.
“This is not possible unless the silent Hindu majority witnessing saffron violence proactively stands in solidarity with the victims of such violence and also shoulder to shoulder with non-Hindu citizens against Hindu nationalism in all its forms. We appeal to one and all to take up the task of rebuilding communal harmony as a peoples project,” the committee members said.
The committee has expressed concern that while the girl’s parents might have had a role to play in the murder, the statement by Superintendent of Police Lakshman Nimbaragi could also be a ploy to shift the bulk of the blame from the Sri Ram Sena Hindustan to the family, thereby making the murder appear to be a contract or supari killing and not a communal, honour killing.
The report describes the threats faced by the boy’s family after the interference of the Sri Ram Sena Hindustan. It speaks in detail about the heinous crime, its preparations and the aftermath. The committee also traces the rise of right wing forces in parts of Belagavi and how there has been a shift from language chauvinism to religious fundamentalism.
The committee members are Akash Bhattacharya (All India People’s Forum), Avani Chokshi (All India Lawyers Association for Justice), Nizamuddin (Fraternity Movement), Shaik Zakeer Hussain (Journalist, The Cognate), Siddharth Joshi (independent researcher), Syed Junaid (All India Students Association) and Tanveer Ahmed (Movement for Justice).
The team interviewed 11 persons, including the victim’s family, journalists, activists and government officers.
