In March 2017, 31-year-old Ameed Farook was attacked and killed in the city of Coimbatore, India. Undoubtedly, the motivation for the attack was Ameed’s outspoken secularism and atheism, which he made no secret on Facebook. He was also a member of Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam, a regional organization advocating against caste-based discrimination and religious superstition. 

"My husband didn't want me to know about the threats because it would worry me, but one week before his murder, he looked very agitated. I would keep asking him why and he wouldn't tell me." - Rasheeda, Ameed's wife

According to police, Ameed’s atheism had enraged the six alleged attackers who hacked him to death. In the year leading up to his murder, he had indeed been a frequent recipient of death threats over the phone and over Facebook. And according to Ameed’s family, two of the attackers had been his longtime friends, with whom his relationship had soured—evidently to the point of murderous hatred—as Ameed became more outspoken about his atheism. His death came two weeks after he posted a photo of his daughter holding a sign that read "There is no God" to a WhatsApp group.

One of the suspected attackers had even befriended Ameed before the murder. Feigning interest in membership in Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam, he did not entirely convince Ameed of his motives. Nonetheless, Ameed believed him when he contacted him and said he needed Ameed’s help to fix his bike—luring him into the trap that would take his life.