Sacred idols of Hindu deities desecrated by unidentified miscreants in Murshidabad, West Bengal
Murshidabad, West Bengal, India 
15 March, 2026
Case Summary
In the Chunakhali Shyambazar area of Berhampore, Murshidabad, West Bengal, sacred idols of Goddess Kali and Lord Shiva were desecrated by a few unidentified miscreants on 16 March 2026. According to media reports, the perpetrators entered a pandal at night, where the idols were kept and then desecrated the idols of Lord Shiva and Goddess Kali. The next morning, local Hindu residents discovered this vandalism and started blocking Jalangi Road in protest against this incident. When police personnel reached the spot, protests started around them. The Hindu protesters stated that the police tried to lift the blockade without listening to their complaints. The police tried to take away the broken idol by force. The police also pressured the puja committee to abandon the idol. Local Hindu residents demanded that the guilty persons be identified and arrested. Although the situation was currently under control, the police maintained a careful vigil. The administration appealed to everyone to maintain peace and harmony. A local Hindu resident said, "When we came in the morning, we saw that the idols were broken. Every year, Kali Puja is held here. There is a police van here. The outpost is 100 metres away. The police collect money from the cars all night. Then the police are there. And such a big incident happened here, but the police were not seen. Today, we Sanatanis have taken to the streets to save our idols. We want justice." On hearing the news of this incident, Bharatiya Janata Party candidate for the upcoming assembly elections (2026 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election), Subrata Maitra, reached the spot. Current Bharatiya Janata Party Member of the Legislative Assembly from Murshidabad assembly, Gauri Shankar Ghosh, reached the spot. He questioned the role of the state administration in the wake of this incident and termed the matter as an indication of the heinous politics of the All India Trinamool Congress. He demanded a proper investigation into the matter.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case is being added to the tracker under the primary category- Attack on Hindu religious representations. The subcategory selected is- Desecration of Hindu religious symbols. Icons and symbols or a religious representation of a spiritual ideal are widely revered in Hinduism. Iconography is of vital significance in the Hindu milieu. It helps connect people’s spiritual beliefs with the real world. Iconography within the Hindu faith takes several shapes and forms. Murtis are of most significance to Hindus, to which daily rituals, prayers and offerings are done. Besides the murtis, there are several other symbols which have deep significance in the Hindu faith – the Om and Swastika for example. Since these Hindu religious symbols hold paramount importance in Hinduism, any desecration of symbols, icons, murtis, religious representations and manifestations, is driven by animosity towards the faith itself which manifests itself through these murtis, icons and symbols. Therefore, any desecration of these Hindu religious symbols and representations is considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. The other 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. This case is a clear instance of a religiously motivated hate crime as sacred idols of Lord Shiva and Goddess Kali were desecrated by unidentified miscreants in Murshidabad, West Bengal. In Hinduism, idols hold profound spiritual significance as physical embodiments of the divine, serving as focal points for devotion, worship, and connection to the sacred. Specifically, the idol of Goddess Kali represents the fierce, protective aspect of the divine feminine energy, symbolising destruction of evil, empowerment, and time itself, while deeply revered in Bengal for her role in warding off demons and granting liberation. The idol of Lord Shiva embodies the supreme ascetic deity, the destroyer and transformer within the cosmic cycle, associated with meditation, yoga, and ultimate consciousness, worshipped universally by Hindus for his benevolence and power over creation and dissolution. Any act of violence against these sacred idols reflects deep religious animosity that drove the perpetrators' crimes, classifying it as a hate crime. The desecration aimed to wound the sentiments of the Hindu community and incite outrage, confirming it as a religiously motivated hate crime and an assault on sacred Hindu religious symbols. The fact that this desecration occurred inside a pandal underscores its profound gravity, where a pandal serves as a temporary yet elaborate structure erected during major Hindu festivals like Kali Puja, Durga Puja, Saraswati Puja, and Lakshmi Puja specifically to house and honour deities' idols. It functions as a vibrant, sacred religious space that not only fosters intense personal devotion and ritual worship but also promotes cultural celebration through art, music, and community gatherings, while strengthening social unity and collective identity among Hindu devotees who view it as a living extension of the divine presence. Desecrating idols of Hindu deities inside such a pandal equates to an attack on the entire pandal itself, as these idols form the inseparable spiritual core and centrepiece of the structure, thereby exemplifying targeted religious animosity and constituting a clear case of a religiously motivated hate crime designed to intimidate the Hindu community. Furthermore, the fact that the police attempted to dismantle the blockade formed by Hindu protesters in the immediate aftermath of the idols being broken, resorted to forcibly seizing the broken idol, and exerted intense pressure on the puja committee to abandon and dispose of it reveals a desperate institutional effort to suppress the incident, prevent it from escalating into major news, and effectively conceal the evidence of the crime. This pressure on the puja committee to abandon the idol highlights a deliberate cover-up of the entire case, exposing deep-seated institutionalised bias against Hindus and their sacred religious symbols precisely when they fall victim to hate crimes, which further reinforces the religiously motivated nature of the original desecration and the systemic mishandling that perpetuates such injustices. It is also important to note that this incident occurred in Murshidabad, a place in West Bengal known for its anti-Hindu violence. The Hinduphobia Tracker has previously documented multiple instances of anti-Hindu violence in Murshidabad. For example, on 11 April 2025, widespread violence against Hindus erupted in Murshidabad, West Bengal, following the conclusion of Jumma Namaz under the pretext of protests against the Waqf Amendment Act. After this, large Muslim mobs turned violent in several areas, leading to the disruption of public order. This also led to calculated, targeted attacks on multiple Hindu temples across Murshidabad, making it a clear case of a religiously motivated hate crime. Similarly, in another instance, amidst the anti-Hindu violence unleashed by Muslim mobs in Murshidabad under the pretext of opposing the Waqf Amendment Bill, Dipen Mondal, a Hindu man, and his family were forced to flee from Murshidabad. In this case also, several Hindu temples and homes were attacked by Muslim mobs. Similarly, in another instance in April 2025, a Hindu woman named Jharna Mondal stated that a Muslim mob of at least 2,000 to 5,000 people came and attacked a Hindu temple. They vandalised the temple and also forced Mondal's brother-in-law to chant "Allah" and "Bismillah". The Muslim mob also spat and urinated in front of the temple. Then, in another instance, in September 2025, a Durga Puja pandal was desecrated after an Azaan timing board was hung inside the pandal by unidentified miscreants in Murshidabad. This recurring pattern of anti-Hindu violence in Murshidabad demonstrates that these are not isolated acts but calculated and well-planned crimes specifically targeting Hindus and their sacred religious sites, establishing a clear case of systematic hate crimes aimed at instilling fear and eroding cultural heritage. In this current incident, even though the perpetrators' identities remain unknown, the deliberate desecration of idols central to Hindu worship unequivocally reveals a motivation rooted in religious animosity. Therefore, this case is being added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker.
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Perpetrators Details
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