Aggression

NOTE: This story is loosely based on real-life incidents, that takes place in India for a longer period of time with lots of references, research and analysis with various people, newspapers and articles, that came in daily newspapers. But, it’s based on author’s fiction and doesn’t apply to any historical references.

DISCLAIMER: This story does not hurt any religious sentiments nor any particular religion. The main motive of this story is about giving Social message to the people. Not to attack particular group of people.

AUGUST 23, 2022

DUMKA, JHARKHAND

TUESDAY

On Tuesday morning in Dhumka, Shalini Singh had been sleeping peacefully in her bed. While her father Srinivas Singh was busy chanting the slogans of Bhagavad Gita along with his wife Sharadha Sharma. While chanting, they heard the screams of their daughter.

Within a few seconds, her body was in flames and she ran up to family members who attempted to extinguish the fire. Her family then hurried her to the hospital. She had severe burns. A news media, Jai Bharat went to the hospitals to speak with Shalini.

“Who burnt you Shalini? Who’s that bastard?”

“Ahmed…Ahmed Hussain.” She said and further added:

“Ahmed used to harass me every day. He used to approach me and seek my friendship. After getting my contact number, he used to call me repeatedly, asking for my friendship. When I chastised him for not stopping, he threatened to kill me. A night before the attack, he threatened me with dire consequences. I went and immediately informed my father about the same. Since it was late in the night, my father asked me to go to sleep and said that he will think about what step is needed to be taken in the next morning.”

The second day, Priya Dutt, a 28-year old famous advocate in Jharkhand visits her. Treating her well, she caressed her and said: “Don’t worry. You will be fine.”

But, Shalini didn’t mind and said her: “Madam. I was in deep sleep at around 4 in the morning, when Ahmed and his friend Chottu, threw petrol at me from the room’s window. They set me on fire. When my eyes opened I saw the two running away. The area I lived in had a predominantly Muslim population.”

Meanwhile, doctors and police came in. They asked Priya to go outside. Left with no way, she goes out. A few minutes later, she came inside and asked Shalini: “Why didn’t you lodge a police complaint Shalini ma?”

“Ahmed Hussain’s brother did not fear the law madam. He had warned action against those who dare to complain against Ahmed and get him arrested. He had said, let’s see who dares to get us jailed, won’t spare them after coming out of the prison.” Ankita also recalled how Ahmed’s brother had openly threatened her, “He had threatened me saying kill the girl who got him arrested.”

Before breathing her last, she said by holding the arms of Priya: “Madam. I have a last wish.”

“Tell me ma!” She said with some drops of tears in her eyes.

“He should die the way I am dying today” said the Dumka girl. She breathed her last at 2:30 AM on Sunday morning. Her hands, legs and face were badly burnt. Protests erupted in Dumka district. Under Anjali’s support, people took to the streets in considerable numbers to condemn the incident and demand that the accused be brought to justice as soon as possible. Section 144 was implemented in the Dumka district shortly after the incident.

Meanwhile, Aravinth Krishna, a news reporter of Jai Bharat clips the videos of protests secretly. He said: “Greetings to Jharkhand people. Due to the protests, Ahmed was arrested by the police. He smiled unrepentantly and had no regrets about the heinous crime he had committed. The incident should have provoked angry reactions from the Left, ceaseless debates, and undying outrage in the form of lengthy op-eds in leading publications over how a Hindu girl was killed by her spurned Muslim pursuer. But it did not spark any kind of outrage among the Left. However, perhaps since the perpetrator was a Muslim and the victim Hindu, the media organizations and elite commentaries who like to comment on every issue under the sun conveniently gave a pass to the horrifying tragedy that fell upon Shalini. Many mainstream media organizations and left-wing media personalities have so far not reported on the death. Those who did most likely grudgingly, resorted to obscurantism, carefully hiding the identities of the perpetrator and the victim in their headline and using a more generalist title to report about the incident. India Today published a report, representing Ahmed Hussain as one Abhishek with no shame.”

FEW DAYS LATER

AUGUST 19, 2022

Meanwhile Rajendra Kanoongo, the chairperson of the NCPCR(National Commission for Protection of Child Rights) has voiced serious concerns about the Jharkhand police investigation after a few days. When he was questioned by Aravinth in the outskirts of Jharkhand on Shalini’s murder, he said: “We’ll go there, meet doctors and family members of the child. We’ll investigate the whole matter and convey it in our report.”

After two days, Aravinth once again met Rajendran at his residency. There, he asked about the developments in investigation to which, Rajendran said: “Yes. Shalini, who was studying in class 12 was a minor as per her birth documents and certificates. Earlier the Police had claimed that she was 19 years old when she died. However, the CWC brought out the deceased’s class 10 mark sheet which mentioned her date of birth as November 26, 2006.”

He added: “I spoke to the child’s father over call. Police did not do proper hearing, proper treatment was not given to her. If a child dies due to lack of treatment, it is gross negligence of the administration and government. We’ll collect facts on it and ensure action is taken.”

Kanoongo went on to say that: “The Jharkhand Police concealed several things and misquoted the victim’s age, causing the girl child to be denied Juvenile Justice Act provisions. It amounts to criminal negligence. Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) sections was not utilized in the case. It was invoked only yesterday in response to a request from the Child Welfare Committee.”

AUGUST 20, 2022

Days after Rajendra Kanoongo revealed that deceased Shalini Singh was a minor when she was burnt alive. The Jharkhand Police already knew the fact that she was a minor and had deliberately mentioned her age as 19 in the Police report.

The Jharkhand DSP Noor Muhammad had first mentioned in the complaint that the girl was 17 when she died and later had overwritten the same to make it 19. On Thursday however, he accepted that the girl was aged 15 at the time of the incident and added the sections of the POCSO Act against accused Ahmed Hussain and Nazeem.

Noor tried to help the accused in the initial phase by mentioning the victim’s age as 19. However, the victim’s statement was recorded in the presence of the magistrate with the help of Advocate Priya. The Police Headquarters now has directed the Dumka DIG to look into the matter and has ordered an inquiry related to the complaint of overwriting in age.

Noor had accepted that the girl was 15 when she was murdered and had added relevant sections of POCSO to the case. This is after the Jharkhand Child Welfare Committee had taken cognizance of the incident and had revealed that Shalini who was studying in class 12 was a minor as per her birth documents and certificates. The CWC brought out the deceased’s class 10 mark sheet which mentioned her date of birth as November 26, 2006.

ONE WEEK LATER

AUGUST 27, 2022

A week later, DSP Noor Muhammad had been suspended following allegations of negligence and helping the accused Ahmed Hussain in weakening the case. After his suspension, the former Jharkhand CM Marandi Sharma shared some documents stating that DSP Muhammad has not only been anti-tribal but also had a communal trait to him. On Thursday, almost 10 days after the heinous incident, the Jharkhand Police added the sections of the POCSO Act to the Shalini Singh murder case of Dumka.

Meanwhile, there has been widespread outrage across the country and calls for Ahmed Hussain to be punished in the wake of Shalini’s death in Jharkhand. Amidst all this, Javed Akhtar, a News 24 Nation journalist from Patna, attempted to defend Ahmed Hussain’s crime. Javed stated in a Facebook post that such incidents are common and that she was burnt alive because of cheating.

The screenshot of the comment by Javed has since gone viral over the internet. In the post, Javed wrote, “Shouldn’t get too agitated. This burning and all is anyway common” (translated).

After reading this comment, a user named Indian Army team asked him, “Where have you learned such journalism from? Javed sir. Your language is not good at all.”

To that, instead of condemning what Ahmed did, Javed responded by saying, “She cheated, therefore she was burnt. Where there is lust, there is sympathy…”

Following the comments by Javed Akhtar, several social media users condemned his attitude towards the victim. Raising the matter, Shubham Bhardwaj of Bajrang Dal took to Twitter and wrote, “Journalist Javed Akhtar has made indecent remarks on sister Shalini Singh who was burnt by heretics. Is there any government machinery to take action?”

Twitter user Mihir Jha wrote, “Meet Javed Akhtar – Patna-based senior Journalist of News4Nation. This is how he’s celebrating #Ahmed burning #Shalini Singh. He then goes on to make se¥ually suggestive comments again.”

Following the outrage on social media, Javed Akhtar took a U-turn and apologised for his remarks made on Facebook. In a tweet, he wrote, “I had made an inappropriate comment on Shalini Singh for which I am very sorry and apologize to all of you. Ahmed, who killed sister Shalini should get the death sentence..! There is no place for criminals who commit such acts in society.” However, the next day, he was found in an unconscious state at Ganges banks of Patna.

People around there rescued him and admitted in the hospitals. Upon checking, doctors found grave injury marks in his private parts and lap. After receiving treatments for two days, Javed gets to know that: “He is paralyzed forever in his life.” This shocked Ahmed Hussain and Nazeem.

SEVEN DAYS LATER

DUMKA

SEPTEMBER 4, 2022

One week later, Noor Muhammad meets Ahmed Hussain. He warmly welcomed him inside the house and thanked him for bailing him out of this case. Smoking a cigar, Noor said: “I doesn’t care a bit about my suspension. But, I worry for our Nazeem Ahmed.”

“Why? What problem for him?” Ahmed’s brother asked him to which, Noor said: “He had been arrested by Jharkhand police.”

“Nazeem alias Chhotu Khan, the second culprit in the murder of Hindu student Shalini in Dumka, has been apprehended by police in Jharkhand.” Noor said them with little humour.

“He was absconding after the incident. How is it possible?”

Smoking one more cigar, Noor replied him: “I told you already to stop your activities for a few days. But, your friend molested a minor girl in Dumka. Then, how will the police department be silent?”

Ahmed Hussain now recalled the girl Anshika Sharma, who was harassed and stalked by Nazeem. The girl is a resident of the Kepatpada area in Dumka. When she used to go for coaching in 2021, Nazeem not only molested her but also threatened her that if she refused his advances, he would harm her family. He continued to force her to give him her contact number. Once she was forcibly taken by Nazeem to an unknown place, where Nazeem took her to a room and imprisoned her. During that time, he pressured her to convert and marry. When she refused, he threatened to kill her and said he would sell her to his brother, who lives in Dubai.

At present, Noor said: “Her family members filed a complaint against Nazeem at Dumka Nagar Police station. They rescued the girl and filed a case under the POSCO act. However, I used my influences and released him on bail.”

“Then, why was he arrested again?” asked Ahmed to which, Noor replied: “Because his family members threatened the girl’s parents to revoke the complaint filed against Nazeem. They further met that advocate Priya due to fear.”

Keeping the audio of Nazeem’s confessions(in the interrogation cell), Noor played the audio.

“I was supporting Ahmed at every step in his harassment of the deceased Shalini. He was my best friend and we both met on the evening of August 22, hours before the attack against Shalini. Ahmed was upset as she was not responding positively to his friendship. He told me that I would burn Shalini if she refused to talk with me.” He further said that: “He supported Ahmed’s idea saying that it was the only punishment she deserved.”

Now, Noor said: “Thank god. There are some moles in our police department. So, I managed to get these things. Both of you must be careful da. I am planning to bail Nazeem.”

Meanwhile Ahmed switched on the TV for some relaxation. Except some news channels, all the news channels are speaking about his and Nazeem’s heinous crime. Advocate Priya has been interviewed by Hindi daily Dainik Jagran about the organizations, that are targeting Hindu girls to which she said: “Sir. There is an organization active in Dumka that is allegedly targeting Hindu girls. The Muslim men linked to the group trap young Hindu girls in love affairs and convert them to Islam on the pretext of marriage and happy life.”

“How you know these things madam? Through hear and say?”

Showing the confessions of Shalini and Anshika, she replied: “As I live in the same residency, I very well knew all these atrocities sir.” An angry Ahmed throws his remote towards the TV and shouted aloud. He vows to get Priya killed and goes to her house along with his friends and henchman, where he’s shocked.

Since, he sees a masked man wearing a normal dress with sports-haircut at the back of her house. He had been standing with an AK-47 gun pointing towards Ahmed. Shocked, he asked him: “Who are you?”

However, Ahmed’s henchmen are killed one by one with a machine gun from the backside of the house. The operator of Machine gun is having thick beard and moustache all over his face. He is also wearing a normal dress.

They knock Ahmed unconscious and kidnaps him to a remote location. Since he didn’t return to the house, Ahmed’s brother confronts Priya Dutt regarding the same to which she denied of his knowledge. So, he tries to strangle her. At the nick of time, the two strangers come inside the house and upon seeing them, Ahmed’s brother too gets shocked.

Before he could react, the second guy knocked him unconscious with the gun and puts him in the back of their jeep.

“Who are you two?” asked Priya Dutt, to which the guys said: “Hush. Quiet for a few minutes Priya Dutt.” They sprayed her and made her unconscious. She too gets kidnapped to a remote location. There, the strangers tortured Ahmed and Nazeem, who too gets kidnapped along with Noor Muhammad and Ahmed’s elder brother.

Slashing the arms, legs and abdomen of the trio, they tortured them cruelly inside the secluded room at a remote area of Dumka region. Unable to bear the pain, Ahmed asked the guys: “Hey. Who are you da? Why did you kidnap us?”

Opening the mask, the guys revealed themselves. Upon seeing the guys Ahmed, Nazeem and Ahmed’s brother are terribly shocked. They recalled few incidents that happened in Assam and North-Eastern India in 2021.

“Are you Anuvishnu and Sachin?” asked Ahmed’s brother to which, they nodded yes. Priya just then opened her eyes and looked at Anuvishnu and Sachin. She asked the reason for kidnapping her to which, the guys said: “Because you are the witness of these three’s cruel death within a few minutes of time.”

Going close to her eyes, Anuvishnu questioned her: “Don’t know what I am trying to tell you right. Let me explain about it clearly.”

Advertisement

e-height: 21.758px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, "sans-serif";">FEW YEARS BACK

2019, BALAKOT

“Our flag does not fly because the wind moves it, it flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it.” Colonel Ajay Krishna said to the Indian Army soldiers, who were ready for Balakot Airstrike mission. Major Anuvishnu and Captain Sachin are charged as the head of this mission. With the team, they attacked Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp and killed a large number of terrorists between 350. Further, Sachin dropped bombs into Balakot, Pakistan.

After this mission, they came back to Kashmir borders, where Ajay congratulated Anuvishnu and said: “Anuvishnu. What if you die in an accident in the future period of time?”

“Sir. I won’t die in an accident or die of any disease. I will go down in glory” said Anuvishnu, which impressed him a lot. After sending other people from the room, Ajay said them that: “They are transferred to Assam in undercover to observe the insurgencies taking place in the North-East India.” To this, both of them happily accepted.

While travelling to Assam in the bike, Sachin asked Anuvishnu: “Hey buddy. Your family is staying in Assam right?”

“Yes da.”

“Then, it’s good for us la?”

“Hmm. We have no problems for food and communication.” After reaching Assam, Anuvishnu met his father Shiva Rajasekharan and younger sister Priya Darshini. After interrogating their health, Anuvishnu meets his wife Swetha, who fights with him for not meeting her for so many days. She have a happy news for him.

After giving some moments of surprise, Swetha said Anuvishnu that: “She is 3-months pregnant with his child.” But, the happiness remained for a shorter period of time. Because they have to investigate the problems of insurgencies. While interrogating these things in undercover, both the guys get a shocker from Shiva.

He says that: “Muslim population is raising day by day in Assam. Conversion and illegal activities too are taking place without the knowledge of people and in the eyes of state government.” However, Priya denied this and says: “Brother. People are living peacefully and everyone are treated equally here.” But, during the interrogation with local people, Anuvishnu realized that his father’s statements is true.

They informed this to Ajay who said: “Not only religious issues. There are so many problems. Particularly, Chinese Army is entering illegally. Be safe and investigate smoothly, Anuvishnu.” Meanwhile, Priya Darshini meets her lover Rajesh, who had been studying in a college at Assam. She expressed her fears to him about the disapproval of her family.

To console her, Rajesh asked her to elope with him, which she does when he said her that, “He will die if she doesn’t come.” Writing a letter about her elopement with Rajesh, Priya ran with him and was in a live-in-relationship. Shocked, Anuvishnu’s father suffered a heart attack and gets admitted in a hospital. However, he recovers and begs him to rescue Priya at any cost.

However, a shocking news comes to the family of Anuvishnu, which completely shattered his whole family. Priya’s naked corpse was found in a freezer at a hotel near Assam. This completely devastated his family. After the cremation, Anuvishnu takes a sabbatical from Insurgency mission and started investigating his sister’s death to her college friends.

At this point of time, one of Rajesh’s friend Ashwin comes and informed Anuvishnu the truth that: “Rajesh’s real name is Ahmed Hussain. In disguise as Rajesh, he was doing Love Jihad and trapped several young women to convert them as Islam.” Angered, Sachin and Anuvishnu confronts Nadeem Ahmed, one of Ahmed’s friends in Assam and asked him to convey the truth by torturing him brutally.

He tells him that: “Priya was gang-raped by Ahmed, Nadeem and his four other Muslim friends. She was stored alive in the freezer and repeatedly raped till she died.”

Angered, Anuvishnu chopped the hands and legs of Nadeem. He further cuts his private parts using a knife and puts him in the same freezer, where they stored his sister alive. Nadeem’s death angered Ahmed. After investigating the family of Anuvishnu and knowing that, he got transferred to Meghalaya with Sachin, he, his elder brother and Nazeem went there.

After killing Anuvishnu’s father, Ahmed Hussain introduced himself to Swetha and said: “He raped Priya and stored her in the refrigerator.” Ahmed and his elder brother tied her in a chair. At a nick of time, Anuvishnu and Sachin came there. However, Nazeem hides at the back of the door and hits in the head of Anuvishnu and knocked down Sachin unconscious.

In front of Anuvishnu’s eyes, Swetha was raped by Nazeem, Ahmed and Ahmed’s elder brother. Then they killed her by inserting Bamboo spikes in her vagina with the help of Khasi youths without showing any mercy that she was pregnant. A helpless Anuvishnu watched this horror and cried aloud.

Now, Ahmed told his brother: “Now, these kind of people will fear to raise a voice against us brother.” They left the duo and set the house ablaze in fire. However some Buddhist monks, Hindu monks and Jain monks in Meghalaya saved them at a nick of time. Since, they were looking at all these atrocities secretly.

PRESENT

At present, Anuvishnu said: “I was helpless watching the death of my wife, my father and my younger sister. These idiots used their influence, minority appeasement and some leftist parties to escape the law and order. So, knife to knife is the only way to fight against these animals.”

“Why you kidnapped me? To convey this ah?” Priya asked in tears to which, Sachin said: “Upon seeing you, he remembered about his younger sister. Hence, he grabbed you also to convey this message.” These were recorded by Priya secretly in a video.

Remembering the words of Shalini: “He should die the same way, I am dying now” Anuvishnu asked Sachin to take the kerosene bottle from the jeep. He removed the ties of Priya Dutt. With her presence, they poured kerosene in the bodies of Noor Muhammad, Nazeem and Ahmed.

They didn’t have any remorse or regret for their actions. Instead, they told Anuvishnu: “Even if we die, we would be hailed as the heroes in the presence of Allah, Anuvishnu.” However, he took off the trio’s clothes and showcased their atrocities and crimes in his video. He now said them: “All your crimes will come to the light of this world guys. Die peacefully.” He burned them alive after remembering the death of Shalini, Swetha and Priya Darshini.

A reflection of Shalini, Swetha and Priya Darshini smiled at Anuvishnu. He decides to surrender to the police, after the new DSP Dinesh came there. When Anuvishnu and Sachin showed their hands for surrendering, Dinesh said: “No sir. There are more number of Love Jihad cases that are happening in India. It doesn’t come in news. So, you people are needed for this country not only to stop Love Jihad. But, also to stop the insurgencies in North-Eastern states of India.”

Priya Dutt promised Anuvishnu and Sachin that: “She will take care of this case.” The guys thanked them and left from that place, having avenged the death of Priya Darshini and Shalini Singh. Before leaving, Anuvishnu turned to Priya and said: “Take care of our women Priya. They believe you.”

TWO DAYS LATER

Two days later, Ahmed and Nazeem’s case resurfaced in the news channels and media when Dinesh informed the media that: “The four were burnt to death by mysterious men when the police team were about to catch and arrest Noor Muhammad, Ahmed Hussain, his brother and Nazeem.” This creates an outrage amongst Muslim community, ruling party leaders and left-wing associations. A case is filed to investigate the death of the trio by Left wing liberalists.

In the High court of Jharkhand, Priya Dutt appears for the police department alongside Krishna Menon for Muslim side. After greetings, the judge asked for the arguments of Krishna after the PIL no is read.

In his argument Krishna said: “Your Honor. Decades after decade, atrocities against Minorities have became common. Nazeem, suspended cop Noor and Ahmed alongside Ahmed’s elder brother were burnt to death my mysterious people. But, police department is so careless. We want the culprits to get arrested.”

“Honorable court. I object the statements of Mr. Krishna Menon.” Getting up from her seats, she added: “Atrocities against minorities. How shamelessly he is keeping that point my lord.”

“Madam. Mind your words” said Krishna, to which she didn’t respond and she continued: “Dumka in Jharkhand witnessed one of the most brutal murders recently when accused Ahmed Hussain burnt Shalini alive because she refused her advances. Ahmed and his friend Nazeem poured petrol on Shalini through an open window while she was asleep and then set fire to her, resulting in her death later in the hospital.”

Giving the news report of India Today to the judge, she added: “While people across the country are shocked by the heinous crime and are demanding the strictest possible punishment for Ahmed, the India Today group seems to be more concerned about protecting Ahmed’s identity. Following his arrest, Ahmed was seen shamelessly smiling in police custody without any remorse on his face. While reporting on that incident, the media group decided to change the accused’s name from Ahmed to Abhishek.”

“Objections my lord.”

“Objection overruled.” The Judge said.

“The name Abhishek was repeatedly used in the report, and it was nowhere even mentioned that they have changed the name for whatever their reasons might be. However, people online soon noticed this change of the accused’s name from Ahmed to Abhishek and questioned India Today’s motivations to do the same. With several people pointing it out online, the media house finally decided to change its report, and use the correct name of the accused. ”

Now, she further submitted the clips of RDTV news channel reporters. Seeing the judge she puts forth her arguments: “Honourable court. It was interesting to note how this horrific crime was covered by “liberal” news outlets like RDTV. While they have never shied away from naming religions of the people involved in the headlines in the past, even for crimes where no communal angle was involved, this time not only did they avoid mentioning the religions, but even stopped short of naming the accused in the headline. In fact, the headline only referred to Ahmed Hussain as “the stalker” and Shalini as “Jharkhand schoolgirl”. The report titled “Jharkhand school girl dies after stalker set her on fire: Police” was published by RDTV on Monday, 29th of August. It would not have raised any eyebrows if this was the standard style guide for RDTV where they avoided mentioning religions or the names of the people involved in such incidents. However, as we can see in this report, from the same state of Jharkhand, the news channel hasn’t shied away from highlighting religion when their own report, later on, says that there was no communal angle to the crime. The double standards of NDTV while reporting such incidents were very visible to the people online, and quickly got highlighted.”

“Objection my lord. The opposite lawyer is trying to deviate from the main subject, being discussed in this court.” Showcasing some pictures of crimes against Muslims, he said: “What about these things my lord? May the opposite lawyer please explain? It’s about the victim of Gujarat riots 2002.”

“Yes of course sir. I will definitely speak about that women when you all speak about Godhra riots, in which more than 52 Hindus were burned to death in a train. This is not an arbitrary decision to highlight religion in the headline in one case, and hide it in the other case. It is regularly done by mainstream Indian news channels to reinforce the narrative that the victims can only belong to one religion, and the aggressor always comes from one particular religion. If the victim is Hindu, the mention of religion disappears from the headlines but reappears when a Muslim ends up being the victim. Apart from this selective mention of religion in the headlines, sometimes the media selects a new name for the aggressor when he is a Muslim. India Today, for example, today changed the name of Ahmed Hussain in this case to Abhishek while reporting about the incident. Online outrage forced them to correct the name in their report and quietly update it. This is not a new practice in the Indian media industry and is unlikely to change any time soon. If we are expecting consistency in reporting for all crimes, I am afraid it is going to be a long wait.”

“Objection my lord.” An angry Krishna said. But, it gets overruled by the judge. Now, Pooja Bhatt says: “The incident should have provoked angry reactions from the Left, ceaseless debates, and undying outrage in the form of lengthy op-eds in leading publications over how a Hindu girl was killed by her spurned Muslim pursuer. But it did not spark any kind of outrage among the Left. However, perhaps since the perpetrator was a Muslim and the victim Hindu, the media organisations and elite commentariats who like to comment on every issue under the sun conveniently gave a pass to the horrifying tragedy that fell upon Ankita. Many mainstream media organisations and left-wing media personalities have so far not reported on the death. Those who did, most likely grudgingly, resorted to obscurantism, carefully hiding the identities of the perpetrator and the victim in their headline and using a more generalist title to report about the incident. India Today published a report, representing Shahrukh Hussain as one ‘Abhishek’. However, there is little surprise to this enduring deceit that has come to define the Left and the media ecosystem controlled by them. Unabashed hypocrisy has become a hallmark of the Indian left intelligentsia. They would continue to harp on the faith of the perpetrator should they be a Hindu and the victim a Muslim or a Christian. In that case, they would hunker themselves to weave fictitious stories about the “persecution of minorities” and “rising intolerance” in the country even though the crime committed had no religious connotation. The same standards are not applied when the identities of the perpetrators and the victims are reversed. This dichotomy stems from a bloated sense of entitlement among ‘liberals’, who often subject others to higher standards of noble beliefs and virtues while refraining from holding themselves to the same rigorous standards. They labour under a mistaken belief that they are a cut above the world, with a false sense of the notion that they are exempted from being evaluated by the same token as they use to judge others. For instance, the left-leaning liberals had recently displayed unmatched alacrity in criticising Nupur Sharma for her remarks on Prophet Muhammad in a TV News debate. The same lot that moralised over how Sharma was wrong for her comments, effectively painting a target on her back and granting legitimacy to the ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ threats issued by Islamists, made a shameless volte-face when Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair, whose dog-whistling made Sharma the target of Islamists, was arrested for hurting sentiments of Hindus with his disparaging posts against Hindu Gods and Goddesses. They defended Zubair, claiming that his arrest was the suppression of free speech in India. Some of them even floated the theory that Zubair was arrested because he was a Muslim. The fact that Hindus such as Kanhaiya Lal and Umesh Kolhe became the victim of his dog-whistling was conveniently swept under the rug by the Left eager to shield Zubair and project him as a victim of state repression. That Nupur Sharma and those supporting her faced ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ threats by Islamist mob was also paid no heed to by the Left that outrages over even most innocuous statements made by Hindu leaders or BJP politicians. The deaths of Lal and Kolhe, who were killed by Islamists for social media posts supporting Nupur Sharma, were met with silence and indifference from the Left, with some of the members even holding the former BJP spokesperson responsible for their killing. The treachery seems to have persisted in Shalini's case as well, where the mainstream media has abstained from focusing on the religious identities of the perpetrator and the victim as it undermines their meticulously crafted propaganda of minority victimhood. Inter-sectionalist is thus a theoretical framework for understanding how aspects of one’s social and political identities (e.g., gender, race, class, sexuality, disability, etc.) might combine to create unique modes of discrimination. So when a Muslim victim is identified by his/her identity, it is an acknowledgement of the fact that his/her faith has played a role in the discrimination or atrocities meted out on him/her. In addition to this, in such cases, the identity of the perpetrators also holds significance since the crime is committed on the premise of existing religious inequities. The media houses, therefore, fall over themselves in case the perpetrator of such atrocities happens to be Hindus.

By contrast, they refrain from placing emphasis on identities when the victim is a Hindu and the perpetrator of the crime is a Muslim. When the non-left highlights the identities in such cases, the allegation that is often levelled by left ideologues and media organisations is that non-left is blatantly ‘communalising’ an incident. This is nothing but a shameless attempt at gas lighting Hindus into guilt-tripping, into making them believe that raising voices against atrocities meted out on them could touch off communal conflagration for which they would alone be held responsible. Apparently, as per the Indian left’s understanding, incidents are communalised only when the perpetrators happen to be Muslims and victims Hindus. When it is the other way around, the media organisations feel no qualms in harping on the religious and caste identities of the victims and assailants, to insinuate how minorities are attacking people from the majority community like they would normally do when the identities of the victim and the perpetrator is reversed. Behind this transparent hypocrisy, lies the nefarious aim of the Left, who in connivance with their supporters in the media have concocted the farce of “perpetual threat facing minorities in India” to prevent the consolidation of the Hindu majority and thereby undermine their outsize influence on the country’s electoral politics. The Left works studiously to reinforce the narrative that Muslims, Christians, and other minorities in India perpetually remain under threat as long as the Modi-led BJP is at the Centre.  The Left also gains from the consequence of such an insidious narrative, which helps to instil fear of persecution among minorities, polarise and consolidate them against the majority and political parties that seek to end the decades-old tradition of appeasing minorities and treating them with kid gloves. To prevent this trope from falling apart, the media organisations consciously refrain from invoking religious identities when a Muslim perpetrator is found to have committed an act of brutality against a Hindu as witnessed in Shalini’s barbaric murder when Ahmed Hussain decided to end the life of a Hindu girl who exercised her agency and rebuffed his advances.”

Her arguments and evidences emotionally torn the minds of people, who were listening. Finally, she requests the judge to strengthen POSCO charges by mentioning about Priya Darshini rape case in Assam and many other Love Jihad cases like this are happening in and around the country. She finally said: “Whoever rape or kill a women must be punished severely irrespective of their religion, my lord.”

After five minutes break, the judge summons DGP and Home Secretary taking cognizance of Shalini murder case and asks for POCSO changes in FIR. Anuvishnu and Sachin smiled upon hearing this judgement from Arunachal Pradesh, where they are staying currently for another undercover mission, assigned by the Indian Army.

EPILOGUE

We shall not look at caste or religion. All human beings in this land — whether they be those who preach the vedas or who belong to other castes — are one.

-Subramaniya Bharathi.