Hindu extremists assault Muslim youths for attending Hindu girl's birthday party in India

Lucknow: Hindu extremists assaulted two Muslim youths for attending the birthday party of a Hindu girl in India, according to Indian media reports.

The incident occurred in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly town, where activists of the Bajrang Dal attacked the youths at a cafe where the birthday party was being held.

The attackers accused the youths of involvement in so-called “love jihad,” a conspiracy theory alleging Muslim men marry Hindu women to convert them.

A video of the incident later went viral on social media, sparking widespread concern over the safety of religious minorities in India.

Reports said that around two dozen Bajrang Dal workers barged into the cafe, creating a ruckus. Eight students from a local nursing college, including the two Muslim students, were present at the party.

Despite the girl repeatedly pleading with the attackers that the Muslim youths were her classmates and she invited them to attend the birthday, the group continued their assault. The cafe was also vandalized during the incident.

Police arrived at the scene after receiving information and, instead of arresting the attackers, took the two Muslim youths and the cafe owner into custody, booking them for apprehension of breach of peace.

Police later confirmed that cases were also registered against two Bajrang Dal leaders, identified as Deepak Pathak and Rishabh Thakur, for involvement in the assault.

According to police, preliminary investigations found the allegations of “love jihad” to be false. All those present at the party were students of the same college and friends.