Alwar (Rajasthan): “They target us because we are Muslims,” said Shaukat Ali, a neighbour of Imran Ali whose infant was crushed to death during police raids in Rajasthan’s Alwar.
The tragic incident happened on the early morning of March 2. The police had barged into Imran, a daily-wage labourer’s house unannounced to conduct raids against alleged cyber fraud.
The manner in which the raid was conducted without a search warrant reflects how Muslims, especially the ones who lack the resources to raise their voices, are treated.
Jamtara of North India
Last year in June 2024, Rajasthan Police launched “Operation Antivirus” which was meant to be a massive crackdown on online scams mushrooming in the region of Mewat spanning Rajasthan and Haryana. Alwar is one of the hotspots of cyber fraud which is why the region is called “Jamtara of North India”.
But in the police raids – a pattern is usually observed. Shaukat underlines that the raid that happened on the uneventful morning was just a part of the multiple raids being carried out in the name of “cyber fraud investigations” to extort money. “It is mainly happening in the houses of Meo Muslims,” he says.
When asked why this was the case, he shared that after the death of local MLA Zubair Khan, from the Congress party, the raids have increased – because Meo Muslims lost their political representative.
Meo Muslims – caught between politics and poverty
Alwar’s regional demography, especially Raghunathgarh, has a sizable mix of Yadavs, Jatts, Meos, OBCs, among others. What sets Meos apart is their shared communal heritage of Hindu and Muslim customs, dating back to the pre-independence era. For example, marriage alliances among them happen between similar castes as in Hinduism, while their nikah ceremonies exhibit Islamic traditions. Traditionally a semi-tribal group, their main occupation has been cattle rearing for centuries.
Meo Muslims are descendants of Rajput, Meena and Gujjar communities who converted to Islam and scattered over south of Delhi and Thar. They spread over princely states of Alwar and Bharatpur in Rajasthan, and Gurgaon of former Punjab province, thus becoming politically important to the British. Using the timeless tactic of sectarianism, British rulers ignited trouble, disturbing their secular ideals for political gains.
While Alwar’s Meos became the first to revolt against increasing land revenues in the 1930s, those in other states drifted apart from their ethnic cousins for several reasons including cultural, economic and political differences. Their occupation in particular has led to their high-handedness from authorities, resulting in government neglect, religious and gender-based discrimination, and deteriorating economic conditions over the years.
“The traditionally secure beliefs of Meos, like cow slaughter, has been a bone of contention between the majority and minority communities,” points out political analyst Narayan Bareth. Their profession makes them a frequent victim of majoritarian oppression. Combining their lack of basic education and financial vulnerability, they become easy targets for adverse groups who want to “earn political dividends by making their secularist traditions a sensitive issue.”
Bareth informs that in the past, most leaders from the faction, like one Nawab Lohari, “acted as a showpiece and maintained good relations across the political spectrum, seldom engaging in community welfare.” Only Congress MLA Khan was an exception. “He was a dominant leader who advocated for political literacy and education for girls among the marginalised communities.” His death in September last year resulted in a vacuum of leadership. His wife attempted to cultivate support but to no avail.
“The political void left after Khan’s death has emboldened police raids,” he indicates.
Several individuals have been arrested in the Alwar region over the past few months allegedly in connection with online scams, but it was only the death of the infant in Imran’s case that brought it to the attention of mainstream national media. Often searches are conducted without prior warning or FIRs, in the pretence of GPS-tracked cybercrime tips but the arrested are let off after extorting money from them, locals point out. The absence of a representative voice and resources to fight back leads to this routine harassment of the impoverished community.
With no previous criminal records, Imran was also hunted down in the wee hours of the morning for alleged cyber fraud. Particularly, “it is the lack of political representation and community leadership that have worsened the situation for Meo Muslims in Alwar,” Bareth states.
‘Toxic political agenda’
Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] polit bureau member Brinda Karat reiterates, “After the BJP has formed the government, their toxic political agenda is being played out in several parts of Rajasthan.”
As soon as the mother stood up to open the door, the male police grabbed her and threw her out. The baby covered in the blanket was still in the charpai. The cops stood on the charpai to get to the bed where the father was sleeping. And in doing that, they stepped on the baby and killed the baby, she was told by the family.
“In a village like that with jhuggis built so close next to each other, how can you pinpoint and go into someone’s room without a warrant?” retorts Karat.
While five police officers in connection to the incident have been booked, no traces of the mobile phone involved in the alleged cyber fraud was found at Imran’s residence. Besides the early morning raid without prior information or warrant, no female police were accompanying as is a Supreme Court mandate in cases dealing with vulnerable populations like children and women.
The tragic death of one-and-a-half-month-old Alishba raises several questions about law enforcement in the region. The recklessness of the police exposes a deeper systematic lack of accountability.
“There are cases which are happening in which the Muslim community is a particular target. There is absolutely no doubt about it,” Karat says when asked if religion played a role in what unfolded at Imran’s house.
“Because they’re poor, and then they’re Muslims. That’s their crime,” Karat adds.
Sumaiya Ali is an independent journalist based in Uttar Pradesh and Maariyah Siddique is an academic based in Kolkata.
