Ram Navami procession disrupted, devotees stone-pelted by Muslim mob in Dhanbad, Jharkhand

Case ID : 30a7756 | Location : Dhanbad, Jharkhand, India | Date of Incident : Thu, 26 March, 2026

Case ID : 30a7756

Dhanbad, Jharkhand, India

26 March, 2026

Ram Navami procession disrupted, devotees stone-pelted by Muslim mob in Dhanbad, Jharkhand

Attack not resulting in death

Attack on religious procession

Attack against Hindu devotees

Attacked for Hindu identity

Communal clash/attack

Case Summary

In the Bhikhrajpur area of Dhanbad district, Jharkhand, a Ram Navami procession was disrupted and stone-pelted by a Muslim mob. The incident occurred on 27 March 2026, when Hindu devotees were carrying out a Ram Navami procession in the Bhikhrajpur area to celebrate the festival. During this time, members of the Muslim community attacked and stone-pelted the religious procession, resulting in serious injuries to nearly a dozen people. The victims were admitted to a hospital, with authorities confirming that the injured were out of danger. In response, the police launched a crackdown and identified about 40-50 Muslim individuals in connection with the incident. Around 20 accused were arrested and taken into custody, with several being produced before the court and remanded to judicial custody. The authorities also conducted continuous raids to apprehend the remaining suspects. As part of a strong deterrent measure, the arrested individuals were paraded on foot through local areas such as Baliapur Bazaar and Bhikhrajpur under heavy police presence, with the intent of signalling strict enforcement against those involved in disrupting communal harmony and law and order. Senior police officials, including City SP Ritwik Srivastava, stated that the situation was brought under control swiftly, with normalcy restored within a short span of time. Section 163 was imposed in the area for a limited period to prevent further unrest, and additional security forces were deployed to maintain peace. The police relied on CCTV footage and on-ground verification to identify those involved. Officials reiterated that strict action would continue against anyone attempting to incite violence or disrupt religious processions, emphasising that maintaining law and order during festivals remained a priority for the administration.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of - Attack not resulting in death. Within it, the sub-category selected is - Attack on religious procession. The outward celebration and display of religious symbols is an intrinsic part of Hinduism. Religious processions on various festivals are age-old traditions and a way to manifest faith and form a part of the religious practices of Hindus. On several occasions, such religious processions come under attack by non-Hindu mobs, in a manifestation of their animosity towards Hinduism and its practices. The reasons cited for such violent attacks are many and range from crossing a non-Hindu resident-dominated area to playing loud music, crossing from an area where there is a religious structure of another faith, etc. The violent attacks are triggered by the outward display of religiosity by Hindus. The attacks are mainly a manifestation of religious supremacist doctrine, which believes that idolatry, essentially the Hindu faith, deserves to be annihilated since the very tenets of Hinduism, its practices and traditions, are considered a sin in those doctrines. Since these attacks emanate from intrinsic and doctrinal animosity towards Hindus and Hinduism, it is considered a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. The other sub-category 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 based on 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, two elements 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. The other sub-category selected here is - Attacked for Hindu identity. In several cases, Hindus are attacked merely for their Hindu identity without any perceived provocation. A classic example of this category of religiously motivated hate crime is a murder in 2016. 7 ISIS terrorists were convicted for shooting a school principal in Kanpur because they got ‘triggered’ seeing the Kalava on his wrist and tilak that he had put. In this, the Hindu victim had offered no provocation except for his Hindu religious identity. The motivation for the murder was purely religious, driven by religious supremacy. Such cases where Hindus are targeted merely for their religious identity would be documented as a hate crime under this category. The other subcategory selected is- Communal Clash/Attack. Communal clash is a form of collective violence involving conflicts between groups with 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 constituted a clear instance of a religiously motivated hate crime, as a Hindu religious procession held on the occasion of Ram Navami was violently targeted through stone-pelting by a Muslim mob in Dhanbad district of Jharkhand. The incident occurred when Hindu devotees were carrying out the Ram Navami religious procession, making their religious identity both visible and central to the event. The attack was directed at the procession itself, indicating that the violence was not incidental but aimed at individuals participating in a Hindu religious celebration, thereby establishing a clear religious motive. Ram Navami holds deep religious significance for Hindus as it commemorates the birth of Lord Ram, a central deity revered as a symbol of righteousness, dharma, and ideal kingship. Processions conducted on this occasion are not merely public gatherings but sacred expressions of collective devotion, involving chants, devotional songs, and symbolic displays of faith. The act of targeting such a procession, particularly at a moment when devotees were engaged in religious observance, amounts to a direct assault on the community’s right to practise and express its faith freely. The disruption of the procession transformed a sacred religious event into a site of violence, causing both physical harm and emotional distress to the participants. The manner of the attack, involving coordinated stone-pelting that resulted in injuries to the devotees, demonstrated an intent to intimidate and disrupt the religious procession. The victims were identifiable as Hindus due to their participation in the Ram Navami procession, making their religious identity the primary basis for their targeting. The absence of any immediate provocation and the direct focus on the procession reinforce that the violence was directed at the group because of its religious character rather than any individual conduct. Therefore, the Hindu devotees were attacked not for any personal actions but because they were Hindus and were visibly expressing their Hindu identity in public. The location and context of the incident further added to its seriousness, as the attack took place while the religious procession was moving along a public route. If the Muslim community genuinely had any issues regarding the procession's route or any other grievance, they could have approached the administration to resolve the issue; instead, they attacked the procession itself. The targeting of the procession in a shared public space demonstrated an attempt to disrupt the lawful and customary expression of Hindu religious practice. Such acts demonstrate intolerance towards visible religious celebrations and reflect a willingness to use violence to interfere with the peaceful conduct of a religious event. The scale of the incident, with around 40–50 individuals identified in connection with the violence and approximately 20 arrests made, further reveals that the attack was not an isolated act but a targeted action involving a larger group acting in coordination. Religious processions like those held on Ram Navami are public affirmations of faith and identity, and targeting them carries a broader message intended to instil fear among the community and deter future expressions of religious practice. Attacks during such occasions amplify their psychological impact, extending beyond the immediate victims to the wider community. Taken together, the deliberate targeting of a Hindu religious procession, the infliction of physical harm on devotees, the disruption of a sacred festival, and the communal context in which the incident occurred collectively establish that the victims were attacked because of their Hindu identity and public expressions of their faith. Such actions are motivated by religious animosity; therefore, this case has been added to the tracker. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker acknowledges that multiple victims were injured in this incident. Media reports indicate that approximately a dozen individuals sustained injuries; therefore, for documentation purposes, the victim count has been recorded as 12. Similarly, media reports state that cases were registered against around 40–50 individuals in connection with the incident. Accordingly, for documentation purposes, the perpetrator count has been recorded as 50.