Hindu activist attacked by mob for opposing forced religious conversions of Hindus by Christians

Case ID : 277d03c | Location : Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India | Date of Incident : Wed, 24 December, 2025

Case ID : 277d03c

Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

24 December, 2025

Hindu activist attacked by mob for opposing forced religious conversions of Hindus by Christians

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim

Communal clash/attack

Case Summary

In Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, a Hindu man named Arjun Singh, associated with Bajrang Dal, a Hindu organisation, suffered a brutal attack inside his own shop by a mob of 20 to 30 people. The attack occurred as the activist had made posts on social media opposing forced religious conversions of Hindus by Christians in India. According to media reports, the entire incident occurred on 25 December 2025 and was captured on the shop’s CCTV cameras, based on which the police began an investigation. The victim, Arjun Singh, ran a mobile phone shop in the Rabale area. At the time of the incident, a few youths spoke to him regarding an issue with a mobile phone when, suddenly, a large mob stormed into the shop. Without any provocation, the attackers launched a violent assault on Singh, beating him with kicks and punches, sticks and slippers. They used whatever objects they could lay their hands on, including buckets, flower pots, and plastic drums, to mercilessly attack him. The suddenness of the assault left Singh with no chance to defend himself. After severely beating him, the attackers issued threats and fled the spot. As per reports, the dispute stemmed from a social media status posted by Arjun Singh where he opposed forced Christian conversions of Hindus and posted in his social media status, "If you wish me a Merry Christmas, I will hammer nails into your body." At the time of writing this report, the Rabale MIDC (Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation) police registered a case and identified the accused using the CCTV footage.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

The primary category selected in this case is- Attack not resulting in death. The subcategory selected is- Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim. In several cases, Hindus are attacked for opposing religiously motivated crimes being committed against a fellow Hindu or simply for voicing an opinion opposing radical elements, who either have in the past or continue to persecute Hindus. In such cases, the initial attack against the victim, against which the Hindu was trying to defend the victim, would also need to be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the initial crime itself was religiously motivated and the subsequent crime of attempting to save the victim or speaking against the radical elements ends up inviting a violent attack, it would also be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. The other subcategory selected is- Communal Clash/Attack. Communal clash is a form of collective violence that involves clashes between groups belonging to different religious identities. For a communal clash between Hindus and non-Hindus to qualify as a religiously motivated hate crime, the trigger of the violence itself would have to be anti-Hindu in essence. For example, if there is a Hindu religious procession that comes under attack from a non-Hindu mob and after the initial attack, Hindus retaliate in self-defence, leading to a communal clash between the two religious communities. While at a later stage, both communities are involved in the clash/violence, the initial trigger of the violence was by the non-Hindu mob against the Hindus and therefore, it could safely be termed as an anti-Hindu violence. Further, the trigger would also have to be religiously motivated. In the cited example, the attack by the non-Hindu mob was against religious processions and therefore, can be concluded to be religiously motivated. In some cases, the trigger may be non-religious, however, it develops into religious violence against Hindus at a later stage. In such cases too, the foundational animosity towards Hindus becomes the motivating factor of the crime and therefore, it would be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime against Hindus under this category. This case stood as a clear instance of a religiously motivated hate crime against a Hindu man, as the victim, Arjun Singh, a Hindu activist associated with Bajrang Dal, suffered a brutal attack by a mob of 20 to 30 people simply for opposing forced religious conversions of Hindus to Christianity. For opposing this and posting about it on social media, he endured a violent assault. The perpetrators launched this assault on him for standing up for Hindu victims of forced Christian conversions, showcasing their deep-seated religious animosity towards the Hindu community, making it a religiously motivated crime. In such cases, any Hindu standing up and opposing hate crimes against Hindus is subjected to violence, marking it as a clear instance of hate crime against a Hindu man for his Hindu identity and religious activism in opposing forced conversions. The report stated that he made a controversial post during Christmas, which angered the mob. If this served as the main issue for the attack, the attackers still could have pursued a legal route instead of launching a violent assault on him. However, reports confirmed that he opposed forced conversions, for which he faced targeting. This demonstrates that the victim's post on social media was a mere euphemism or pretext to attack him for opposing conversions. If someone felt hurt by the post, they could have lodged a complaint and followed legal channels. Assaulting him made it clear that the social media post served merely as an excuse to target him for his Hindu activism, constituting a clear instance of a religiously motivated crime. The severity of the attack, where a mob of around 30 people armed with sticks mercilessly beat him with kicks, punches, sticks, slippers, buckets, flower pots, and plastic drums before issuing threats, showcased a clear instance of a communal attack against a Hindu activist for his Hindu activism and efforts to protect his community's people against forced Christian proselytisation. In this case, even though the identity of the perpetrators remained unclear, the attack was clearly rooted in anti-Hindu hostility. Therefore, this case is being added to the Hate Crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker.