(A brief report by a Karnataka citizens’ team comprising AIPF, AILAJ and AISA members in the matter of the beheading of a Muslim man for his relationship with a Hindu woman.)
In light of the grave reports of the brutal beheading and murder of a 25-year-old Muslim man Arbaz Mulla in Belagavi on 28 September 2021 because he was in love with a Hindu woman, a team of seven people from Bengaluru and Davangere visited Belagavi on Thursday, 07 October, to express solidarity with the family of the deceased and to conduct a fact finding into the incident. The team consisted of 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 (activist, All India Students Association), and Tanveer Ahmed (Movement for Justice).
The team was struck by the fact that the police had made no arrests despite a clear role of the Hindu-supremacist vigilante group Sri Ram Sene (Hindustan) in the murder till 07 October. Only on 08 October 2021 were 10 persons arrested in connection with the killing.
When asked about the murder and desecration of the body, the Superintendent of Police refused to part with any information till completion of investigation. Even when asked about compliance with Supreme Court directions to create a 24-hour helpline to assist inter-caste and inter-religious couples, he again stated that he would respond to the same only after completion of investigation. The District Collector denied any knowledge of the incident. In the eight days that had passed since the murder the family had received little solidarity from local politicians, journalists and citizens including those not belonging to Hindu-supremacist parties and groups. The silence and inaction on the part of the police, administration and politicians is what contributes to the impunity of groups such as Sri Ram Sene. A few days prior to the murder, Pundalik Maharaj, a member of the Sene, had openly threatened the victim’s mother with acid attack and had warned that he could murder her son, asserting that there were already 40 police cases against him and that he had nothing to fear. It is only after he carried out his threat that Maharaj was arrested by the jurisdictional police.
Talking to the family, especially the victim’s cousin, aunt, and mother (Najeema Shaikh), the team got a sense that the family had anticipated trouble once the alleged inter-faith love affair between Mr. Mulla and his neighbour became visible and known in Khanapur. Yet there was little social and community support that they could call upon. So they had considered agreeing to a “settlement” proposed by Pundalik Maharaj and Prashant Birje of the Sri Ram Sene (H) with the hope that the situation would not escalate. This underlines the helplessness of the local Muslims and Christians who have been repeatedly targeted with threats, occasional attacks, and boycotts by the Sri Ram Sene over the last decade. This incident comes in the wake of unchecked clout of Hindu-supremacist organizations including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the region.
The citizens’ team appealed to all citizens of Karnataka to extend solidarity to Mr. Mulla’s family and friends, to demand a speedy and fair investigation and trial in the case to ensure justice, and to make proactive efforts to build bridges between communities and rebuild communal harmony in the state as well as the country. The team demanded that action be taken by the Government to ensure such communal incidents are prevented. The team further demanded:
- Government should take steps to ensure communal harmony including comprehensive compliance of the Supreme Court judgment in the Shakthi Vahini v Union of India case.
- The Belgaum administration must ensure the safety of Mr. Mulla’s family.
- The government must acknowledge that Belagavi is a communally sensitive area and take requisite steps to prevent such incidents in the future.
