Lareb Hashmi, the 20-year-old accused who has been arrested for attacking a bus conductor with a cleaver after a dispute in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, has revealed the reason for attacking the conductor.
The engineering student claimed that the dispute was over ticket fare and alleged that the conductor used “casteist” words.
The accused Lareb Hashmi also revealed that he follows the teachings of Pakistan’s Maulana Khadim Hussain Rizvi. He said that though he has not met Rizvi in person but has seen him “on the internet”.
What Led to the Attack?
The incident took place on Friday when Hashmi took a cleaver to bus conductor Harikesh sending him to hospital with serious wounds. Hashmi was nabbed the same day later from Chandi village after a gunfire encounter with police during which he was shot in the leg.
The incident came to light when a video shot by Hashmi went viral on social media. “He was abusing a Muslim. Insha Allah he will not survive,” Hashmi says in the video referring to the bus conductor.
“Nobody should think that the government is of Modi and Yogi. Only Mustafa rules our hearts. Allah hu Akbar, Allah hu Akbar,” he said.
Who is Maulana Khadim Hussain Rizvi?
Maulana Khadim Hussain Rizvi was known for his fiery oratory in Urdu and Punjabi and his memorisation of Arabic verses from the Quran, which he often quotes in his speeches.
Rizvi memorised the Quran and was an ardent follower of the Islamic theologian Ahmed Raza Khan Barelvi, who was born in Bareilly, UP in the 19th century and founded the Barelvi school of thought.
Rizvi was the head of a religio-political party Tehrik-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a radical grouping of the Barelvi sect among Sunni Muslims. He, however, weaponised Barelvism in a way unparalleled in the subcontinent in recent history.
Rizvi has been confined to a wheelchair since 2006 ever since an accident near Gujranwala. He died in 2020 at the age of 54 due to an unknown cause.
The wheelchair-bound preacher was also a former Pakistan government employee and hails from Attock district in the Punjab province of Pakistan.
How Khadim Rizvi Shot to Prominence?
Khadim Rizvi shot to prominence when he resigned from his government job to lead the charge against the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader and governor of Punjab Salmaan Taseer.
He smeared Taseer for committing blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad and called for the governor’s death.
Taseer, a prominent name in Pakistan, was pleading for mercy on behalf of Asia Bibi, who was famously accused of blasphemy and languishing in prison. In 2011, a policeman from the governor’s security Mumtaz Qadri, inspired by Rizvi, shot and killed Taseer.
Khadim Rizvi’s Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan magnified the slogan ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ among the masses of Pakistan to shield Qadri for the murder of Salman Taseer.
‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ Slogans in India
The slogan – ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’, which has been raised in several protests across India in the past few years, traces its roots to Moulana Khadim Hussain Rizvi.
Rizvi has often invoked “Man Sabba Nabiyan Faqtolohu”, which translates into “Whoever Insults a Prophet, Kill him”. During his rallies, he would raise a question to the audience during the mass demonstrations, “Gustakh-e-Rasool ki Ek hi Saza?” (What’s the only punishment for the Blasphemer?) to which the protestors would respond by chanting “Sar Tan Se Juda, Sar Tan Se Juda”.
Later, his followers normalised the slogan through YouTube videos and popularised it in protests. The slogans were also raised during the protests against BJP leader Nupur Sharma for her remarks against the Prophet and in Hyderabad during protests against Raja Singh’s derogatory remarks.
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