Key point
- Mob can be heard cheering Hindu chants
- Muslims and minorities have been increasingly targeted under BJP rule
- Hindutva extremism has been condemned
ISLAMABAD: Locals in the West Bengal province of India thrashed a Muslim meat vendor named for allegedly posting a pro-Pakistan video on social media.
According to local media reports, the incident occurred in Barasat city in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.
In a video that has surfaced online, a man was heard saying, “He had posted a “Pakistan Zindabad” (long live Pakistan) video.
The mob ransacked his shop and thrashed him.” Visuals of broken Qureshi’s shop could be seen in the video.
Rizwan, a meat seller, shared a pro-Pakistan story that is agreed or disagree. That’s his personal view. But for locals to storm his shop and target him? That’s not democracy. That’s mob rule.
Freedom of expression is a fundamental right, not a privilege reserved for a few.
Is… pic.twitter.com/D4vZBOySq4
— Tejasswi Prakash (@Tiju0Prakash) May 14, 2025
In another incident which surfaced on X, a street vendor was being harassed by a shirtless man wielding a stick, with the caption suggesting the incident is an example of “blatant terrorism” against a Muslim vendor.
Increased violence and harassment
The incidents reflect a broader context of increased violence and harassment against Muslims in India during the right wing Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party.
What was the fault of this Muslim vendor? Blatant terrorism. pic.twitter.com/LRavw8aZaJ
— Nandhini Saran (@Nandhini_Saran5) May 4, 2025
The video’s setting and the vendor’s apparent distress highlight a disturbing trend of targeted violence, which is part of a larger pattern of Hindutva terrorism in India.
The incidents underscore the systemic use of violence for ideological goals, particularly against minority communities.
