Hindu religious event under siege in West Bengal's Kolkata: Mob of 200-250 attack devotees, vandalise religious pandal
Kolkata, West Bengal, India 
19 March, 2023
Case Summary
A mob of 200-250 miscreants laid siege to a Sheetala Puja Jagran, which was organised at College Street in Central Kolkata. The matter came to light after West Bengal BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari took to social media to seek immediate action from the police. The frenzied mob vandalised the property, hurling stones and attacking devotees. A BJP worker named Subodh Das narrated that the singer, who was at the helm of the affairs of the Jagran, was also attacked. He informed that about 3-4 devotees were grievously injured, and even the women were not spared. BJP leader Shubhendu Adhikari posted a video of the vandalism being carried out by miscreants on the occasion of Jagran on his X account. Along with this, he also raised questions about the law and order situation in the state. It can be seen in the video that some people are carrying out massive vandalism. In view of the vandalism, a large number of police forces have been deployed in the area. Shubhendu Adhikari urged the Kolkata Police to take immediate action in this regard and urged that action be taken against the miscreants as soon as possible.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This incident has been added to the tracker under the category- Attack on Hindu religious representation. Within this, the subcategory selected is- Violence against religious structures or centres. In Hinduism, a religious structure is also considered divine. Hindus believe that not just the Deity but the religious structure itself is sacred. In this sub-category, we would document attacks against religious structures which are not consecrated temple spaces. Such religious spaces could be temporary in nature – for example – the religious spaces erected specifically for festivals like Durga Puja etc. This category would also document cases of attacks against religious centres. These spaces in their own right may not be ‘sacred’ per se, however, are often spaces where religious gurus live, religious teaching is imparted, or belong to religious institutions. Any attack against religious structures is a result of animosity towards the religion itself, which manifests itself through the religious spaces and therefore, such attacks are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. Religious centres are also manifestations of the religion, its teachings or gurus and therefore, attacks against such centres would be considered religiously motivated hate crimes. The other category selected is- Attack not resulting in death. Within this, the subcategory selected is- Attack against Hindu devotees. Hindu devotees are a few of the easiest targets of religiously motivated hate crimes because during the festival/procession/puja etc, for non-Hindus it is easy to profile their victims on the basis of religion. Hindu devotees come under attack on several occasions by individual non-Hindus or mobs of non-Hindus owing to their animosity against Hinduism, its symbols and tradition/practices. There are several instances of Hindu devotees being attacked while they worship in temples or temporary religious structures, during religious processions, doing bhajan/kirtan/puja in their own homes, in the residential society etc. These attacks are perpetrated by non-Hindus primarily because of their animosity towards Hindus and their faith. In some cases, the trigger for the violence may be non-religious, however, there are two elements that make these hate crimes. First, the Hindus who come under attack are attacked violently while indulging in religious activity. Whether they are in a place of worship or not is immaterial to the crime. When individuals are attacked while indulging in religious practices, the attack in itself is a hindrance to their freedom to practice religion and therefore constitutes a hate crime. Secondly, religious supremacist doctrines and ideologies deem religious practices of Hindus to be offensive ab initio since they are considered “sinful” by these ideologies, worthy to be annihilated by force or coercion. Driven by these religious supremacist ideologies and doctrines, the attacks against Hindu devotees stem from intrinsic animosity towards Hinduism. In some cases, the trigger for the violence may be non-religious, however, it develops into a religiously motivated crime during the course of the violence. Since these attacks stem from animosity towards Hindus and Hinduism, they are considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. This incident is a clear example of a religiously motivated hate crime because it involved both a direct assault on a Hindu gathering and the deliberate destruction of property connected to the event. The mob of 200–250 people did not simply engage in random violence; they specifically chose to disrupt a Hindu religious function, targeting it as a space of collective worship and identity. By attacking devotees who had assembled for the event, the perpetrators turned their aggression toward individuals whose only “provocation” was the practice of their faith. The vandalism of property further demonstrates that the intent was not limited to intimidation of individuals but extended to the desecration of the religious and cultural space that Hindus had created for their worship. Together, these actions show hostility toward Hinduism itself, where both the sacred environment and the people participating in it were singled out for attack. This makes the crime inherently rooted in religious animosity rather than being an ordinary act of violence.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Unknown
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
male
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