Muslim men being lynched at the hands of angry Hindu men for whatever cause has become a new norm in India, but the reported lynching of 23-year-old Salman Vohra in Gujarat and its cause would mean that no Muslim is safe anymore in BJP-ruling states.
According to a Quint report, Salman Vohra was beaten to death by a Hindu mob on June 22, during a cricket match amid heightened tensions due to the performance of Muslim players in the tournament, which was met with hostility by pro-Hindutva residents.
Salman Vohra, a garment business worker from Polson compound in Anand, attended the match as a spectator, which drew a crowd of 5,000 people with only around 500 being Muslims, and tensions escalated when the Hindu crowd began shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’.
A drunken altercation over the parking of Vohra's motorcycle sparked violence when the intoxicated man mistook another Muslim man, Suhail, for Vohra and initiated an attack, prompting Vohra to intervene in an attempt to protect Suhail, leading to him being surrounded by the mob.
The crowd's encouragement of violence resulted in severe injuries that proved fatal for Vohra, who was initially taken to a local hospital and later transferred to a larger facility, where he eventually succumbed to his injuries.
The brutal attack left Vohra with significant injuries, including a knife wound that damaged his kidney and severe beatings on his lower waist and neck. His uncle noted that the attackers nearly severed his ear. Vohra's wife, Mashira, is a few weeks pregnant.
In addition to Vohra, two other Muslim men were seriously injured in the incident, requiring multiple stitches, marking the sixth such lynching in Gujarat since June 4 and highlighting a disturbing trend of violence in the region.
Following the incident, Vohra's family filed a First Information Report (FIR) at the Anand Rural police station in the early hours of June 23. The police have arrested nine individuals: Mehul Dinesh Parmar, Kiran Mafat Parmar, Mahendra Ramesh Vaghela, Ketan Mahendra Patel, Akshay Narsinh Parmar, Ratilal Raising Parmar, Vijay Mangal Parmar, Mukesh Rajesh Parmar, Rakesh Babu Parmar, Vijay Chhagan Parmar, and Ketan Bharat Parmar. However, according to sources, two primary suspects remain at large.
The case has drawn significant attention, with Hyderabad Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi alleging that certain members of the Kshatriya community are pressuring the police to exclude Shakti Singh, a relative of a BJP MLA, from the list of accused.
This tragic incident underscores the growing religious tensions and violence in Gujarat, raising concerns about the safety and security of minority communities in the region.