Syed Ali Mujtaba

Mangalore: Karnataka Police have arrested nine students in connection with the thrashing of a Muslim boy for talking to a Hindu girl in Sullia Police station limits in Dakshina Kannada district on August 30.

The incident happened when Mohammad Sanif, a 19-year-old B.com first-year student of Jalsoor Village in Sullia taluk was talking to a Hindu girl student at his College in Sullia town.

As Sanif was talking to his Hindu female friend, a group of Hindu boys swooped on him and questioned him why he was talking to a Hindu girl. They took him to the college playground and removed his shirt and pushed him to the playground and kicked him with boots and beat him with a wooden log. The Hindu boys threatened Sanif with dire consequences that he won’t be spared if he continued to talk to the Hindu girl.

The victim who got a big bruise on his back informed his family members who lodged a complaint to the police.  The police have arrested five students for assaulting Sanif and four students for supporting the assault. Police are further investigating the matter. They informed the media that Sanif is under treatment at the Sullia Government hospital and is recovering from his wounds.

The photos of the deadly assault on Sanif have gone viral on social media and have created public outrage. Such a kind of moral policing by some Hindu youth, beating up a Muslim student for talking to a Hindu girl is a reflection of the level of the ‘othering’ of the Muslims that has happened in our country.

Such incidents indicate the polarization and communalization of Indian society that has taken place in our country. The contours of a Hindu India are very well being shaped through such incidents.