Nadine Osman
A 17-year-old Muslim schoolboy has died after being attacked by a group of Hindu men in northern India, in what his family believe was a religiously motivated killing.
Mohammad Arish, a sixth-form student at Maharshi Vidya Mandir school in Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur district, was assaulted near his home on the evening of July 23. He died from his injuries the following day in hospital.
Police have arrested two suspects and are searching for a third, but tensions remain high in the area amid wider fears over rising violence against Muslims in India.
(Photo credit: @IsmailAfjal/X/CC)
According to Arish’s family, he was ambushed near Kashiram Colony by three men armed with iron rods and wooden sticks.
“As soon as my grandson reached the colony, they began abusing him and hitting him. He fainted on the spot. Local people called an ambulance. He was vomiting blood,” his grandfather, Ruab Ahmed, told local media.
The teenager was taken to Sadar Hospital in Fatehpur and later transferred to Kanpur, where he died in the early hours of 24 July. Police have registered a formal complaint and confirmed the arrest of two of the suspects, identified as Harshwardhan Pandey and Deepak Savita. A third suspect, Bharat Sarkar, remains at large.
A senior police officer confirmed, “Two of the accused have been arrested. One is absconding. We are conducting raids to apprehend him. All angles are being investigated.”
While police have not officially confirmed a communal motive, Arish’s relatives claim the attack stemmed from an earlier dispute with Pandey, who is said to have links to a Hindu nationalist group.
“About two months ago, Harshwardhan had an argument with Arish at school,” one family member said. “He left the school but continued to threaten him.”
Community members in Fatehpur say the killing has left Muslims fearful for their safety. “This is not just about our child,” Ahmed said. “We don’t want any other family to suffer like us.”
The incident comes amid a rise in reported attacks on minorities in India, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, a state governed by the Hindu nationalist BJP. Human rights organisations have frequently accused the authorities of failing to protect Muslims and allowing an atmosphere of impunity to take root.
For Arish’s family, the focus remains on justice. “We’ve lost our child, but we want the truth to come out,” his grandfather said. “We want the people who did this to be punished, not just for us—but so it doesn’t happen again.”
