Three Killed in India After Muslims Riot Over Facebook Post

Three people were killed in the Indian city of Bengaluru on Tuesday night when riots broke out over a Facebook post some Muslims denounced as offensive and blasphemous.

The city remained heavily patrolled by police, its streets all but deserted, on Wednesday.

Bengaluru, often referred to as Bangalore outside of India, is a sprawling state capital and high technology hub styled as the “Silicon Valley of India.” Demonstrations broke out on Tuesday after a Facebook post made an unflattering reference to the Islamic founder Mohammad.

Both Indian and foreign media have been reluctant to quote exactly what the post said, but its author was identified by Al Jazeera News as a man named “Naveen” whose uncle is R. Akhanda Srinivas Murthy, a member of the legislative assembly.

Naveen was arrested and the Facebook post deleted, while Murthy’s home was attacked and damaged when the demonstration turned violent. Murthy, reportedly not at home when this occurred, posted a video message online calling for peace. 

“We’re all brothers. Whatever crime has been committed, let the law teach them a lesson. I appeal to our Muslim brothers and everyone else to maintain peace,” Murthy said.

Police also arrested about 100 rioters and struggled to contain the situation, especially after the mob broke into two local police stations. Bengaluru’s police commissioner said his officers “had no escape, and they had to resort to firing, and three people died.” All three were reportedly Muslim males between the ages of 19 and 21.

“A medical officer at the government-run Bowring hospital said they had treated at least 27 injured policemen and 12 protesters, including three who had suffered gunshot wounds,” Reuters reported Wednesday.

Police officials said they would study CCTV video footage to identify as many rioters as possible and take “stringent action” against them. Indian officials also promised to punish the author of the offending Facebook post.

“If anybody has written anything objectionable the law will take its course and there are so many ways in a democracy to fight for justice, but violence is not the answer. What was written about the Prophet is the working of a sick mind with an intention to create violence,” said an opposition state legislator quoted by Al Jazeera.

The Times of India said the area around Murthy’s residence “resembled a war zone on Wednesday,” with “charred vehicles, shards of glass from broken windows, stones, and bricks” scattered across the deserted roads. Many of the destroyed vehicles belonged to the police.

Reuters described the streets “lined with burnt vehicles” and shops forced to close by the riot, which stunned local eyewitnesses with its speed and ferocity. Protesters reportedly blocked fire trucks and other emergency vehicles that attempted to respond to the blazes, and they attacked journalists who tried to cover the event.

A sizable force of officers from the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was dispatched on Wednesday to maintain order in the Bengaluru districts affected by the riots. A temporary ban on public gatherings was issued.

Representatives of the ruling BJP party accused local legislators of not being “vocal” enough against the riots and “shamefully” seeking to appease them. BJP officials disputed accounts of the demonstration in Bengaluru turning suddenly violent, portraying it as a “well-planned act” perpetrated by “traitors.”

A video circulating online showed a few dozen Muslim demonstrators forming a human chain to protect the Hindu temple in the Kaval Byrasandra neighborhood, not far from the worst of the rioting. Many Indians pointed to this video as an example of neighbors working together and proof that most of Bengaluru’s Muslims are not inclined to riot over Facebook posts.

#WATCH Karnataka: A group of Muslim youth gathered and formed a human chain around a temple in DJ Halli police station limits of Bengaluru city late last night, to protect it from arsonists after violence erupted in the area. (Video source: DJ Halli local) pic.twitter.com/dKIhMjQh96

— ANI (@ANI) August 12, 2020

“Those who incited and perpetrated the Bangalore Riots must be found, arrested, and given exemplary punishment, but they are not to be equated with an entire community, any more than thugs and vigilantes represent all Hindus. This also happened in Bangalore,” local legislator Shashi Tharoor said when sharing the video clip.

The Print of India quoted some Muslims participating in the human chain who said they were still outraged by the Facebook post that “insulted our Prophet Mohammed” and they expect the author to be punished.

“This has happened several times earlier. We respect this temple, we respect Hindus. But we are fighting against those who have extremist views against us,” one of them said.

India has laws against insulting religious beliefs with “deliberate and malicious” intent, and its regulators can force social media networks like Facebook to remove offending content.