26-year-old Harsha was stabbed to death, allegedly by local Muslims, on the night of 20 February 2020 at the Shivamogga district of Karnataka. The motive for his killing appears to be his support for, and media posting about, a uniform dress code for educational institutions.
Karnataka hijab row: Hindu man brutally murdered in Shivamogga, situation tensehttps://t.co/WVE2DckmiU
— OpIndia.com (@OpIndia_com) February 21, 2022
Harsha succumbed to stab wounds at McGann District Hospital. He was a tailor by profession, the sole breadwinner for his family.
She is Harsha's mother
She says Harsha refused to marry now as he wanted to continue his service towards the nation
He was earning just Rs 7,000/month pic.twitter.com/PKJgIp6iuW
— Mahesh Vikram Hegde 🇮🇳 (@mvmeet) February 21, 2022
My brother is killed for being Hindu, he died Chanting Jai shree Ram, we want justice
Sister of Harsha. #JusticeForHarsha pic.twitter.com/8wQB68vOqd
— Curly Jeevi (@curlykrazy07) February 21, 2022
Harsha was a member of Bajrang Dal, an affiliate of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
Shivamogga has been in the news recently over the Hijab row. Harsha spoke in favor of a uniform dress code for educational institutions. Way back in 2015, a fatwa was posted on Facebook by an extremist Islamist group called ‘Mangalore Muslims’ on Facebook against Harsha over his social media posts.
BIG : There was a Fatwa issued against young boy Harsha, who was killed in Karnataka yesterday
Fatwa was posted on facebook by a group called Mangalore Muslims
He was on the hit list pic.twitter.com/gjJQKEec34
— Live Adalat (@LiveAdalat) February 21, 2022
Amidst police security, Harsha’s mortal remains were taken in a huge procession comprising of family, friends, and members of Hindu organizations, for final respects and last rites.
Karnataka | Body of the 26-year-old Bajrang Dal activist Harsha, who was allegedly murdered yesterday in Shivamogga, being taken to his residence amid Police security after postmortem.
Large numbers of workers of Hindu organisations join in. pic.twitter.com/6jllIkEZ0q
— ANI (@ANI) February 21, 2022
The procession passed through communally sensitive areas and was marred by incidents of stone pelting.
Miscreants pelted stones at a funeral procession of Harsha, a Bajrang Dal worker, who was allegedly stabbed to death, was being carried under tight police security in Karnataka’s Shivamogga. pic.twitter.com/hFqnLlnywB
— Priyanka Rudrappa (@PriyankaRudrapa) February 21, 2022
Meanwhile, Jayant Panda, the BJP National Vice President, has demanded capital punishment for Harsha’s killers.
Shehzad Poonawalla shared this video
I am #Harsha
Do #HinduLivesMatter too ?
RT if you agree pic.twitter.com/WyX2j4Jo3I
— Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) February 21, 2022
Harsha’s brutal murder is the latest in a spate of targeted murders of Hindus across Bharat by Hinduphobic forces.