When 22-year-old nursing student Shivangi threw a birthday party at a cafe in Bareilly’s Rajendra Nagar on December 27 for her college friends, little did she know that all hell would break loose on them.
Shivangi and around 12 or 13 of her batchmates from Kashlata Institute of Nursing were having a good time at Den Cafe and Restaurant in the afternoon when a group of 25 to 30 men — later identified as members of the Bajrang Dal’s Bareilly chapter — reportedly entered the venue and began asking who were Hindus and who were Muslims among the students. “Muslim kaun hai?” they asked. They segregated the two groups and asked the Hindu students to step outside.
Two Muslim students were made to wait inside the cafe and were subjected to slurs, with the men accusing them of indulging in ‘Love Jihad’. Videos from the incident showed the students being slapped and pushed aggressively before the violence escalated into a full blown assault involving kicks and blows. Some of the attackers had their faces covered.
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Shivangi was not spared either. She was allegedly stopped from making phone calls, pushed to the ground, and verbally abused. The men also reportedly claimed that they were not afraid of the police and that nobody could touch them. A team from the Prem Nagar police station eventually arrived at the scene.
At the police station, Shivangi recorded her video statement. The police then summoned Shailendra Gangwar, the owner of Den Cafe and detained him detained along with the two Muslim men on charges of rioting. All three were granted bail later that evening.
On December 28, the Prem Nagar police registered an FIR based on a complaint filed by the cafe owner. Shivangi’s complaint, however, did not result in an FIR. The cafe owner’s complaint named Rishabh Thakur and Deepak Pathak, along with 20 to 25 unidentified individuals.
According to last available reports, five persons have been arrested in the case, but Thakur and Pathak remain absconding.
Who is Rishabh Thakur?
After the birthday party video went viral, Thakur went into hiding. He released a video from an undisclosed location claiming that although the girl herself had not alleged ‘Love Jihad’, the incident still amounted to one because Muslims were present at the party. Implying that the case registered against him was unfair, he said his friends had been arrested, and his father detained, and appealed for public support. He also claimed that the video of the assault had been falsely termed rowdyism.
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After the incident came to light, a Bajrang Dal spokesperson issued a statement claiming that Thakur had been expelled from the organisation on December 14 and that the group would not defend him in light of his actions. However, Thakur was seen participating in a Bajrang Dal rally the very next day, on December 15.
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On several posters shared on Thakur’s Instagram timeline, he is identified as a Gau Rakshak, or cow vigilante, associated with the Bajrang Dal.
On several occasions, Thakur has been seen operating as a cow vigilante with a large group of men. Apart from his crusade in saving gaumata, in multiple videos, he is seen as part of groups ambushing people and threatening, intimidating, and harassing them. In one such instance, Thakur is seen rounding up a man, reportedly in a Muslim dominated area, and intimidating him over a video posted by another resident of the neighbourhood. The clip was uploaded on Instagram with upbeat Haryanvi music.
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In a more recent incident, Thakur was seen placing a photograph of Maulana Asad Madani, president of the Jamiat Ulama e Hind, inside a toilet. He also put up posters bearing the phrase “Babar Sauchalay.” The incident triggered widespread protests. Despite this, several Hindutva workers praised Thakur’s actions and used abusive language against those who criticised him.
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On December 22, Thakur posted another video discouraging Hindus from attending Christmas events and urging them instead to observe Tulsi Vivah. The video carried the hashtag Bajrang Dal in its caption.
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Thakur’s vigilantism against ‘Love Jihad’ can be traced back at least three years. His Instagram ‘highlights’ show him stopping and intimidating several interfaith couples, filming them without consent. In one video, while a couple attempts to reason with his group, Thakur is seen grabbing the man by the head and assaulting him.
Thakur has been operating with near complete impunity for several years. He has repeatedly assaulted unsuspecting people on allegations of ‘Love Jihad’, even after the couples requested him and his associates to leave them alone. These incidents are well-documented and openly celebrated by Thakur and his team.
This goes to show that he enjoys a high degree of protection. We have documented several such cases in the past where, despite serios complaints, there have been little or no police action against accused who are associated with Right-wing groups. The public praise for their ‘criminal’ acts highlights how mob vigilantism continues to thrive when enforcement agencies fail to act decisively. Rishabh Thakur is just one example of this wider problem.
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