What Happened After an Attack on the Darbhanga Deputy Mayor – and What It Says About India Today

Darbhanga (Bihar): On the evening of May 31, 2025, Darbhanga deputy mayor Nazia Hasan was attacked, allegedly by supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party, at the municipal complex of the town.

It is not just the lead up to it that is interesting – Hasan had posted on Facebook against ideological extremism – but also what followed, which offers a picture into how violence against Muslims is a pattern in this country.

Who is Hasan?

Hasan, the vice-president of the Bihar Congress Minority Wing, is a mother of three.

Hasan has been a primary school teacher and notably she performs the ritualistic bath given to deceased Muslim women, a service she continued even during COVID-19 and now. A social worker, she was vocal during anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests. Her solo campaign for the deputy mayor’s position won her over 34,000 votes – more than the mayor Anjum Ara – on a shoestring budget of around Rs 60,000 and without counting agents.

She is also an active member of the predominantly Maithil Brahmin Mithila Vikas Sangh.

The attack and its aftermath

According to the first information report filed by Darbhanga Town police, based on Hasan’s complaint, a mob of over a hundred, allegedly led by district BJP president Aditya Narayan Manna and district general secretary Balendu Jha, stormed the Darbhanga Municipal Corporation complex at around 5 pm on May 31. Hasan alleged that the leaders verbally abused her.

The alleged reason behind the attack was a Facebook post made by Hasan, which said: "We hate Pakistan as much as we hate the RSS because both have historically supported the two-nation theory."

Hasan later presented to reporters messages that she had received in its aftermath, containing explicit threats and calling her a traitor.

Hasan said that she had informed the administration and law enforcement – including the district magistrate, the deputy superintendent of police and the station house officer of the of the Darbhanga Town Police Station at Qilaghat – about the threats and plans for an attack on her.

"My entire family is in shock at me being called a 'traitor'," said Nazia Hasan. "We come from a military family. My brother is a Junior Commissioned Officer in the Indian Army. I used to watch politics fall to such levels, but now I am experiencing it myself."

Hasan's personal assistant, Devendra Kumar, who was injured on May 31, had filed a police complaint as well.

On June 3, a police complaint was submitted against Hasan by Soni Purbey, a BJP leader and co-accused in the May 31 violence. Purbey, a councillor and the Darbhanga vice-president of BJP,  accused Hasan of inciting religious hatred, and alleged that she had Pakistani links and illegal foreign funding, demanding authorities check her smartphone.

What happened then?

Days after the May 31 attack, on June 7, a crowd gathered at the municipal complex, raising slogans against Hasan.

The administration had denied permission for this protest in writing, citing Eid as a reason to maintain public order. It defused the gathering and detained some protesters. The Darbhanga sub-divisional magistrate Vikas Kumar also told reporters that no force had been used. He added that several in the group had come with sticks to be lit for a torch rally.

However, despite this official denial, reports of the use of force used against the protestors rapidly circulated, prompting senior BJP leaders and Hindutva outfits to visit workers reportedly admitted to Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital's emergency ward for minor injuries. BJP supporters began to frame the police action as "pro-Pakistani", and one undertaken "against nationalists and Hindus." This narrative gained rapid traction on local social media, with some posts targeting paramilitary and police personnel with abusive language.

Institutional betrayal and personal toll

The municipal commissioner Rakesh Gupta and mayor Anjum Ara reportedly abandoned the premises on May 31, when the attacks were taking place. Hasan’s emergency calls to DSP Amit Kumar during the siege reportedly went unanswered. Local police cited jurisdictional issues for not intervening, said Sarfaraz Anwar, district president of the Darbhanga minority cell. While the municipal commissioner reportedly filed a written complaint after two days, this complaint and that of Hasan's personal assistant Devendra were rejected, with police citing an overlap with Hasan’s FIR.

Eyewitnesses suggest uniformed personnel present during the violence did not act. The complete silence from mayor Ara, whose husband was also notably present at the scene as a bystander, raises further questions.

Ara herself faced a brutal online attack and received threats that compelled her to issue an apology on March 12, 2025. Her statement, made during a peace committee meeting ahead of Holi festivities, suggested a two-hour break between 12.30 pm and 2 pm on Holi to allow for Friday prayers, given that the timing of 'Jumma Namaz' could not be extended. She explicitly stated her intention was to maintain peace and ensure both festivals could be celebrated harmoniously. Her comments were widely amplified and distorted by pro-BJP media. Ara publicly stated, "From early in the morning, the people are calling me Bangladeshi and anti-national… My intention was for peace to be maintained in Darbhanga. But, if anyone's feelings were hurt, I apologise for that." Notably, Hasan had publicly taken Ara's side then.

Hasan too deleted her post and apologised. She was asked to, allegedly by figures within her own political circle, including Darbhanga district Congress president Dayanand Paswan, who cited it as "the only option to save her life."

Meanwhile, social media attacks reached a crescendo.

Gulshan Chaudhary, Darbhanga coordinator and IT-cell president of BJP Darbhanga, published a post that was widely shared, including by Soni Purbey, who was accused in the May 31 attack, makes several inflammatory claims:

"It is being heard that the father of the girl with whom Yasin Bhatkal (founder of Indian Mujahideen) married in Darbhanga is related as the paternal cousin of Mohotarama (i.e., Nazia). It's no mere coincidence that whenever there is a terrorist attack in the country, its links connect to Darbhanga," the post says, originally in Hindi.

Another Facebook user, Priyanshu Jha who is understood to be associated with the BJP Yuva Morcha, claimed to be an active RSS member. "RSS is culture/values. Nazia, your statement regarding our parent organization shows your mental bankruptcy. My promise to you is that you and people with your mindset will not be able to sit peacefully in the corporation now," he wrote.

Vishal Mahaseth, the general secretary of BJP Darbhanga wrote, "She is working like a Pakistani for the same Yasin Bhatkal. I request the district administration that her mobile phone be thoroughly investigated. It's a question of the country/nation."

The online discourse escalated. One 'Chaudhary Pankaj Rai' wrote, "That *** who couldn't understand the difference between wife, daughter, niece, maternal aunt, paternal aunt, now even that *** is comparing RSS to Pakistan."

Bihar BJP minister revenue and land reforms, Sanjay Saraogi, an MLA from Darbhanga, also publicly threatened Hasan. In a statement made shortly after the May 31 attack, Saraogi declared: "You will have to change your mindset; if you don't, it will be changed for you.”

Dharmshila Gupta, Bihar BJP vice-president and a Rajya Sabha MP, meanwhile, publicly called for an inquiry into Hasan's “alleged ISI links” and demanded that a case of sedition be registered against her for her Facebook post critiquing the RSS.

Bihar deputy chief minister Vijay Sinha, in a social media post, also condemned the 'brutal' action of the police and assured the workers of the BJP of just action against the policemen. But what is more interesting is that in that same post he has also attached pictures of a document in which the SDP and DSP while replying to the Lok Shikayat Nivaran Pradhikaran have stated that BJP workers misbehaved with the SDM and other policemen.

A climate of fear

Following the May 31 attack, the complete silence from the Congress party's district and state units has also been noteworthy. Left parties called for a protest on June 2, which all INDIA alliance partners then joined. On June 6, Congress leadership called Nazia Hasan to speak at the 'Sanvidhan Suraksha Sammelan' in Rajgir, attended by Rahul Gandhi, expressly to show party support. This high-profile endorsement again sparked outrage locally, leading regional BJP and RSS affiliates to come onto the roads again on June 7.

The Darbhanga incident is symptomatic of an escalating national trend of demonising minorities, leading to real-world violence. India witnessed an 84% rise in communal violence in 2024, with 59 incidents including seven each in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Beyond the grassroots, a clear pattern of demonisation and political vendetta targets high-ranking individuals serving the nation. A stark example is the reaction to Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, a decorated Indian Army officer. In a viral video, Madhya Pradesh minister Vijay Shah, a BJP leader, referred to Colonel Qureshi as "the sister of terrorists."

This political targeting extends to opposition voices who challenge dominant right-wing narratives and even to public figures attempting to foster communal harmony. On March 26, 2025, the residence of Samajwadi Party (SP) Rajya Sabha MP Ramji Lal Suman, a prominent Dalit leader, was attacked and vandalised in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, by members of the Karni Sena along with other right-wing groups after his comments on Rana Sanga.

The attack on Hasan is an Indian issue, striking at our constitutional morality and the rule of law. The real anarchy is not solely the mob, but the alleged ideological capture of institutions and normalisation of violence.

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