Haryana | Muslim Man Dies After Being Hit in 'Skull Cap' Dispute; Not Hate Crime, Say Police

New Delhi: A 24-year-old migrant labourer was fatally wounded in Haryana's Panipat on May 24 after a dispute over the skull-cap he was wearing turned violent. Police have said the crime did not have a communal angle.

The victim was identified as Firdaus Alam alias Asjad Babu. Firdaus, originally from Bihar’s Kishanganj, worked as a tailor at a factory in Panipat. 

According to Asad, Firdaus's brother, he had recently got married and was returning from his in-laws’ house with a friend, Shahnawaz, when they were intercepted by one Shishu Lala alias Narendra at around 8 pm. Narendra owns a grocery store near Flora Chowk in Panipat’s Sector 29. “He snatched my brother’s skull-cap and put it on as if to mock him,” said Asad.

“When my brother told him to return it, he threw it on the ground,” Asad added.

According to Asad, Firdaus did not fight back. "He gave an angry look to Narendra and asked him why he threw his skull-cap. This angered the shopkeeper who allegedly said, 'How dare you talk to me like that?'," Asad said.

Asad added that when Firdaus bent down to pick his skull-cap up, Narendra allegedly hit Firdaus's head with a baton and mockingly asked if he liked it.

After the attack, Firdaus fell unconscious and Shahnawaz telephoned Asad in panic. Asad reached the spot and rushed him to a local government hospital from where he was referred to PGI (Post Graduate Institute) Rohtak. At Rohtak, Firdaus succumbed to his injuries.

When asked if he knew the attacker, Asad said, “I have been working here as a tailor for nine years. My brother only came two years ago. I don't know too many people here, so how would Firdaus know the man?”

Asad suspects that his brother has been killed over his identity. “The situation is like that these days," he said.

While the accused has been arrested, Indian Express reported that the Panipat police have denied any communal motivations behind the crime. The report has quoted Subhash Khasa, Station House Officer of the Industrial Sector 29 police station.

“Absolutely not. The accused just wanted to try on the cap, which he might not even have known was a proper skull cap. When he put it on and asked how he looked, the deceased asked him to return it. After that, a fight broke out. There is nothing more in the case, and the investigation is on," Khasa said.

An FIR has been registered against Narendra under various sections of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita including section 103(1) (murder, specifically the intentional killing of another person).

Kishanganj MP Mohammad Jawaid, meanwhile, has posted on X claiming that this was not just hate crime but "state-enabled terror" and "targeted killing." Jawaid is a Congress leader.

"The brutal lynching of Asjad Babu from Kochadaman, Kishanganj in Haryana—for the ‘crime’ of wearing a skull cap—is not just a hate crime, it’s state-enabled terror. The Haryana govt must be held accountable for this targeted killing. We demand swift action against all culprits and ₹50 lakh compensation to the victim’s family. This cannot be allowed in any civilised society," Jawaid wrote.

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.