Hindu temples in Haryana threatened with bomb attacks as Khalistan National Army calls for turning the state into Khalistan
Haryana, India 
3 June, 2026
Case Summary
Hindu temples in Haryana were targeted with bomb threats issued in the name of the Khalistan National Army, accompanied by threats to turn the state into Khalistan. According to reports, a threatening email was sent in the name of the Khalistan National Army. The email specifically threatened to bomb the historic Sthaneshwar Mahadev Temple in Thanesar, Kurukshetra, and the Kartikeya Temple in Pehowa, both of which are revered Hindu religious sites that attract large numbers of devotees. The message also threatened attacks on government institutions, including the Mayor's office and Municipal Corporation office in Gurugram, and warned of IED blasts on railway tracks connecting Chandigarh, Ambala and Delhi. The threats were timed around the anniversary of Operation Blue Star and repeatedly invoked the theme of "revenge", while warning members of the public to avoid travel and keep their children safe. The threatening email explicitly stated that "Haryana will become Khalistan" and identified Hindu temples and public institutions as targets, prompting security agencies to remain on heightened alert and initiate investigations into the source of the threats. The threats triggered a high-level security response across Haryana. Police personnel, including officers from the local police station, reached the temple premises and conducted inspections with the assistance of a dog squad, while bomb disposal teams were deployed to examine the sites. Surveillance and security arrangements were intensified around the threatened temples and other sensitive locations. The matter gained additional significance because Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini was scheduled to visit Kurukshetra in the following days, including a planned visit to the Sthaneshwar Mahadev Temple on 8 June. The threatening email prompted security agencies to remain on heightened alert and initiate investigations into the source of the threats.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Hate speech against Hindus. Within this, the sub-category is - Violent threats. Violent threats, explicit, implicit or implied, is the most dangerous form of hate speech since it goes beyond discriminatory and prejudicial language to express the intent of causing harm to an individual or a group of people based on their religious identity and faith. There could be several different kinds of threats that are issued to Hindus based on religious animosity. An explicit threat would mean the direct threat of violence towards an individual Hindu, a group of Hindus or Hindus at large. Physical violence, death threats, threats of destruction of property belonging to Hindus and threats of genocide would mean explicit threats against Hindus for their religious identity. Implicit threats may not be a direct threat but implied through the use of symbols of actions – for example – in the Nupur Sharma case, other than explicit threats, there were also implicit threats when Islamists took to the streets to burn and beat her effigies. It implies that they want to do the same to Nupur Sharma – thereby is considered an implicit threat. Violent threats can be delivered in person, through letters, phone calls, graffiti, or increasingly through social media and other online platforms. It would be important to understand that a threat – explicit or implicit, online or offline – to an individual who happens to be a Hindu does not qualify as a religiously motivated threat. Such a threat, while vile and dangerous, could be owing to non-religious reasons and/or personal animosity. To qualify as a religiously motivated threat, it would need to exhibit an indication that the individual is being targeted for religious reasons and/or owing to his/her religious identity as a Hindu. This case has been included in the Hinduphobia Tracker because it involved explicit threats of violence directed at Hindu places of worship by the Khalistan National Army. The threatening email did not merely advocate a separatist political agenda; it specifically identified prominent Hindu temples as targets for bomb attacks and sought to create fear among Hindu devotees. By singling out sacred Hindu religious sites and threatening their destruction, the perpetrators transformed what might otherwise have been viewed as a political or separatist threat into a direct act of hostility against Hindu religious institutions and the Hindu community. A particularly significant aspect of this case was the deliberate targeting of Hindu temples. The email specifically threatened to bomb the Sthaneshwar Mahadev Temple in Thanesar and the Kartikeya Temple in Pehowa, two important centres of Hindu worship that attract large numbers of devotees. Temples occupy a central place in Hindu religious life and serve as spaces for prayer, spiritual practice, and communal gathering. Threatening to destroy these sites amounted to an attack not merely on physical structures but on symbols of Hindu faith itself. Such threats are designed to instil fear among worshippers, disrupt religious activities, and create the impression that Hindus cannot safely practise their religion even within their own sacred spaces. The choice of temples as targets was not incidental; it reflected a conscious decision to direct hostility towards institutions that embody Hindu identity and religious continuity. By threatening bomb attacks on revered Hindu shrines, the perpetrators sought to intimidate the wider Hindu community and undermine its sense of security. The hateful nature of the incident was further reinforced by the declaration that "Haryana will become Khalistan". This statement went beyond the expression of a separatist aspiration and was accompanied by threats against Hindu temples and public institutions. In this context, the slogan carried a coercive dimension, conveying that the envisioned Khalistani project would be advanced through intimidation and violence directed at those standing outside that ideological framework. The fact that Hindu temples were among the primary targets made the message particularly alarming, as it demonstrated that Hindu religious institutions and Hindus were viewed as obstacles to be threatened or eliminated. It is important to note here that Khalistani separatists perceive India as a Hindu collectivity and harbour specific animosity toward Hindus and their faith. Their demand for a separate state stems from the belief that the Sikh religious identity is distinct from India's perceived Hindu identity, much like Islam. Therefore, threats against India or any of its states and turning it into Khalistan are inherently anti-Hindu and reflect deep-seated hostility, constituting a hate crime. In the present case, the declaration that "Haryana will become Khalistan" was not made in isolation but was coupled with explicit threats to bomb Hindu temples. This linkage demonstrated that the separatist objective was being articulated alongside direct intimidation of Hindu religious institutions. By identifying Hindu temples as targets while proclaiming a Khalistani future for Haryana, the perpetrators conveyed that Hindu religious spaces were incompatible with their vision and could be subjected to violence in pursuit of that goal. The repeated invocation of "revenge" in connection with historical grievances further heightened the communal character of the threat by seeking to justify contemporary hostility against Hindu religious sites. Such messaging contributes to an atmosphere of fear and polarisation by portraying Hindus and their places of worship as legitimate targets for retaliation. The combination of separatist rhetoric, threats of violence, and the deliberate targeting of revered Hindu temples transformed the message from a political declaration into an act of intimidation directed at a specific religious community. For these reasons, the case has been added to the Hinduphobia Tracker. The incident involved direct threats against Hindu places of worship, attempts to terrorise Hindu devotees, and rhetoric that combined separatist objectives with explicit hostility towards Hindu religious institutions. The targeting of temples was not a peripheral aspect of the threat but its central feature. By threatening violence against sacred Hindu sites and invoking a vision of Haryana being transformed into Khalistan through intimidation, the perpetrators sought to create fear within the Hindu community and challenge its ability to practise its faith without threat or coercion. The incident, therefore, constitutes a clear example of anti-Hindu intimidation and hostility directed at both Hindu religious symbols and the wider Hindu community. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incidents based on when an event occurred or when the victim's ordeal began. It is important to clarify that none of the media sources covering this case has specified the exact date when the threatening email was sent. Therefore, for documentation purposes, we have recorded the date based on when the incident was reported in the media, 4 June 2026
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Sikh Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
