Delhi: BJP-RSS tried to communalise Seelampur murder, says report

In a scathing indictment of right-wing politics, a fact-finding report by civil rights group Janhastakshep has claimed deliberate attempts to stoke communal tensions by the BJP-RSS in Delhi’s Seelampur following the murder of 17-year-old Kunal on 17 April.

According to the report, the incident was a result of a clash between street gangs comprising poor, unemployed youth involved in petty crimes — a law-and-order issue rooted in deprivation and systemic failure.

But instead of addressing the root causes, BJP-RSS affiliates, including the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad, descended on the area to whip up a communal frenzy.

Posters begging for help from Yogi Adityanath and Prime Minister Modi have appeared on walls, alongside warnings of a so-called "Hindu exodus" — a narrative aggressively pushed by BJP leaders and their ecosystem to portray of minority aggression.

Photo: Janhastakshep

The Janhastakshep team, comprising senior journalists and lawyers, visited the locality and confirmed that right-wing groups were trying to spin the murder into a communal flashpoint.

 “A day after the killing, BJP leader Jai Bhagwan Goyal and others orchestrated a provocative procession, urging residents to raise slogans against the Muslim community and demand protection,” the report states.

But who is funding this orchestrated campaign of hate? Janhastakshep squarely blames the BJP-RSS combine for sponsoring these efforts, aiming to further damage an already fragile social ecosystem ahead of upcoming elections in Bihar.

The communal propaganda is further bolstered by a compliant media and the police machinery. A Muslim social media influencer, Zikra — demonised in the press as 'Lady Don' — was arrested for merely making a video with a pistol. With no prior criminal record, her arrest reeks of political vendetta and an attempt to humiliate the Muslim community. “This is nothing but a tool in the RSS-BJP arsenal to terrorise minorities,” the report asserts.

सीलमपुर में कुनाल नाम के 17 साल के दलित युवक की हत्या अत्यंत चिंताजनक है। क्षेत्र के लोगों में रोष बहुत ही स्वाभाविक है।
मैं रात से ही जिले से लेकर सीनियर पुलिस अधिकारियों से संपर्क में हूँ। अधिकांश अपराधी चिन्हित हो गए हैं और बाकी की भी गहन पड़ताल जारी है।अपराधी कहीं भी छुपने…

— Manoj Tiwari (@ManojTiwariMP) April 18, 2025

Quoting advocate Subhash Pal, a resident and practicing lawyer, the report underscored that Seelampur is a mixed neighborhood where Dalits, Hindus, and Muslims live in economic parity.

“There are no clear religious ghettos here. The fear and division are being artificially manufactured,” he said, pointing out that efforts to communalise the area have intensified over the past decade, aligning with the BJP's rise to power.

What happened in Seelampur is not an isolated tragedy it is part of a dangerous political design. A teenage boy lost his life, and instead of justice, what followed was a campaign of hate, lies, and intimidation — all to serve the Sangh Parivar’s divisive agenda, the report emphasised, demanding justice for the victims.