WATCH: Muslim student brutally beaten for ‘talking to Hindu girl’

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Web Desk
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A screengrab of the viral video showing the brutal attack on a Muslim student in India. — Twitter/@ashoswai
A screengrab of the viral video showing the brutal attack on a Muslim student in India. — Twitter/@ashoswai 

A shockingly brutal video clip of a young man, said to be Muslim, being beaten up by a Hindu vigilante mob in India's Madhya Pradesh state has gone viral and drawn condemnation from human rights organisations from around the world.

In the short video footage, a group of alleged Hindu vigilantes can be seen gathered around the scared young man — an MCA student. While some of the people question the lone victim, another on the side constantly lands blows on him, slapping him in the face repeatedly as he tries to speak.

The young man can be seen and heard requesting the people of the mob to listen to him and not hit him.

Trigger Warning: violence. Viewer discretion is advised.

Although the audio of what is said is not entirely clear, some voices can be heard. One of the mob members urges the speaker to just “turn the man around”, while another demands that he be beaten.

When the young man folds his hands, another grabs them and holds them tight so he is denied the ability to even protect himself.

The foremost of the attackers then grabs the scared man by his collar and pulls him before the camera demanding that he record himself saying something. On the youth’s question as to what he should say, the former drags him to the centre of the crowd and two men from the mob can then be seen flogging the Muslim youth, hitting his legs with sticks, till he falls down. The video closes with the brutalised screams of the young man.

According to the human rights organisation, Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), the victim has filed a first information report (FIR) against the attackers, which states that the incident took place on January 3.

A photograph of the FIR filed by the victim on January 3, 2023. — Twitter/HateDetectors
A photograph of the FIR filed by the victim on January 3, 2023. — Twitter/HateDetectors

He claims he was returning from a market at 2pm in the afternoon when a girl approached him regarding a book.

Some 3-4 unknown people surrounded him during this and began to demand why he was talking to the girl. The mob then started abusing him verbally and physically. The FIR states that several passers-by witnessed this incident.

The victim also alleged that the mob threatened to kill him if he was found talking to a girl again.

Instances of Hindu vigilantism in India are on the rise as the Hindu nationalist policies of the incumbent government embolden those with anti-Muslim tendencies.

Several human rights organisations have spoken up against the brutality being meted out to Muslims in India. Regarding this matter, the International Human Rights Foundation (IHRF) took to Twitter to condemn the violence.

The tweet said, “We strongly condemn the recent acts of mob violence targeting Muslims, Christians, and Sikhs in India. The nationalist policies of PM Modi's government are to blame for these atrocities. Discrimination and violence must stop. Government must promote peaceful coexistence.”