LUCKNOW — As Uttar Pradesh, certainly one of India’s most polarised states, votes for a brand new authorities, the highlight is on its 40 million Muslims. BBC Hindi’s Kirti Dubey tracked the standing of 4 circumstances involving hate crimes towards Muslims throughout Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s tenure.

“He used to carry a thin towel on his shoulder. They stuffed that in his mouth as they killed him,” mentioned Kamrun Ali, wiping away her tears.

Her husband, Anwar Ali, was allegedly killed by a Hindu mob in March 2019 when he tried to stop them from destroying an Islamic spiritual construction close to his home in Sonbhadra district.

Police arrested 18 individuals – all native Hindus, together with some minors – over his loss of life however they had been granted bail inside a number of months.

Ms Ali mentioned her household remains to be ready for justice.

Lynching and hate speech focusing on Muslims have often made headlines since 2014, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept to energy.

Critics say the accused are sometimes supporters of the occasion – and that anti-Muslim rhetoric by BJP leaders has emboldened them. The BJP denies the accusations, however its leaders hardly ever condemn such incidents.

Mr Modi himself was fiercely criticised for remaining silent for weeks after a 52-year-old Muslim man was lynched in 2015 in UP for allegedly storing beef in his house. Weeks later, he broke his silence by saying Hindus and Muslims ought to struggle poverty and never one another. He additionally criticized cow vigilantes in 2017.

The 2015 killing despatched shock waves world wide however within the years since there have been a number of such assaults on Muslims.

Some of the worst incidents have occurred in UP, the place the BJP’s Yogi Adityanath, a saffron-robed Hindu priest who has usually made inflammatory speeches, turned chief minister in 2017.

It’s laborious to say what number of lynchings or hate crimes occur yearly – in 2017, India’s crime data bureau collected the information however didn’t publish it.

In the 4 circumstances examined by the BBC, victims’ households alleged police apathy and mentioned they had been dissatisfied with the circumstances’ progress. The accused are out on bail in three of the circumstances, whereas nobody has been arrested but within the fourth, greater than seven months later.

Prashant Kumar, extra director basic of legislation and order within the state, denied allegations of police indifference and inefficiency.

“The public has no right to beat anyone and if such incidents happen we take strict action against the accused,” he mentioned.

But Mohammed Asad Hayat, a prison lawyer who represents victims of hate crimes, alleged that the police’s reluctance to anger highly effective individuals has weakened such investigations.

“Lynchings happen under a political agenda,” he mentioned.

Meanwhile victims’ households say they’re dwelling in concern, and a few have even fled their properties.

Distraught households

Anwar Ali’s eldest son, Ain ul Haq, alleges that the arrival of native college trainer Ravindra Kharwar sparked communal tensions of their village, Parsoi.

“He encouraged young Hindu men to assemble and raise slogans against the Imam Chowk (where a religious structure stood),” he says.

Mr Haq says the group broken it twice, however each instances police intervened and negotiated its rebuilding.

But on 20 March 2019, in accordance with the case registered by police, Ali caught a gaggle destroying it a 3rd time, they usually turned on him. His son says they killed him.

Ali’s autopsy report says he died of wounds attributable to a “sharp-edged weapon”.

The police investigation notes identify Mr Kharwar as the principle suspect. They raided his home however could not discover him – he was marked as “absconding”. Mr Kharwar denied allegations of his involvement.

When police filed prices, his identify was lacking. “We did not find any evidence against Ravindra Kharwar,” the district’s police superintendent Amarendra Singh mentioned.

Mr Kharwar, a member of the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) – the ideological guardian of the BJP – was transferred to a faculty in one other village after Ali’s loss of life.

One of the principle accused, Rajesh Kharwar, informed the BBC that the college trainer used to inform them that Muslims are a risk to majority Hindus.

“We are in a deep mess and facing charges but he was saved,” Rajesh, who shouldn’t be associated to the trainer, says.

But Mr Kharwar says he was at house through the homicide and does not know the opposite accused.

Nearly three years on, Mr Haq mentioned he’s upset that each one 18 accused are out on bail. It’s unclear when the trial will start.

The frustration is shared by Shahrukh Khan whose father, Sher Khan, was shot lifeless in June 2021 in Mathura district. Seven months later, there have been no arrests.

Mathura police superintendent Shrish Chandra mentioned he was “not authorised” to elucidate why.

Police say the 50-year-old Khan was killed throughout a scuffle with “unknown” villagers whereas transporting cattle. But his son alleges that the killer was Chandrashekhar Baba, a spiritual guru who runs a cow shelter – Mr Chandrasekhar has denied this.

Shahrukh informed the BBC he fainted when shrapnel from a bullet hit him through the struggle. He says he wakened the following day on the police station, the place he learnt of his father’s loss of life.

Shahrukh additionally alleges that he tried a number of instances so as to add Mr Chandrashekhar’s identify to a police criticism however was dissuaded by police – an allegation Mr Chandra denies.

Mr Chandrasekhar says he intervened in a struggle between Khan and a few villagers and despatched injured individuals to hospital.

It’s unclear what sparked the struggle however buffalo meat sellers and cattle merchants have been assaulted by Hindu vigilante teams who accuse them of transporting beef. While cow slaughter is unlawful in a number of Indian states, together with Uttar Pradesh, buffalos are exempt from the ban.

Police nonetheless arrested Shahrukh and 5 others for cattle smuggling on a criticism filed by Mr Chandrasekhar.

“I couldn’t even attend my father’s funeral because I was in jail,” Shahrukh says.

“If they [the accused] believed that my husband was a cattle smuggler, then they should have handed him over to the police. Why did they open fire at him?” asks Sitara, Khan’s spouse.

Victims fearful, perpetrators free

In May final 12 months, a viral video of a gaggle of males beating a person in Moradabad district led to outrage on-line.

When the BBC visited the home of the sufferer, Shakir Qureshi, his mom began crying out of concern. She ultimately allowed her son to talk.

Mr Qureshi, whose household has been promoting meat for many years, says he was taking buffalo meat to a buyer on his scooter when a gaggle of males blocked his means and accused him of carrying beef.

“I wept and pleaded with them that I wasn’t carrying beef, but they kept thrashing me.”

He says he was too scared to report the assault to the police – he only did so after the video went viral.

Police arrested six people, including Manoj Thakur, who was associated with a cow vigilante group. Mr Thakur spent two months in prison before he got bail.

Moradabad senior police superintendent Bablu Kumar didn’t respond to questions about the status of the case.

But Mr Thakur admitted his role in the assault to the BBC – he said he wouldn’t have been arrested if the video hadn’t gone viral.

After the assault, Mr Qureshi stopped selling meat – he now works as a daily-wage labourer.

Fear and resignation are not uncommon among victims’ families who feel they have no other option.

In May 2017, 60-year-old Ghulam Ahmed was found dead in a mango orchard he was guarding in his village in Bulandshahr district – the post-mortem report says he died of “extreme inner accidents”.

Police arrested nine men linked to a right-wing group – Hindu Yuva Vahini – formed by Mr Adityanath in 2002. They are all out on bail and deny the charges.

Police say he was killed in retaliation against his Muslim neighbour eloping with a Hindu woman days before.

Inter-faith relationships have long been fraught in India, but in recent years, Hindu-Muslim couples have faced also the wrath of vigilantes who accuse Muslim men of luring Hindu woman to convert their faith.

Ahmed’s family was among the few Muslims in a village dominated by upper-caste Hindus.

The key witness, Ahmed’s brother, Pappu, said he had seen men masked by saffron cloths leading Ahmed away. But he later refused to testify.

Ahmed’s son, Vakil Ahmed, says he understands. He says the fact that the accused are from the powerful farm-owning community, while the Muslims mostly work as daily wage labourers, makes it harder for them.

He adds that the main accused, Gavinder, was “welcomed again with garlands” when he was released from jail. Gavinder has denied committing the crime.

The family has since moved away. “How can we proceed to stay on this village?” Vakil asks. — BBC