Hindu sentiments outraged as derogatory remarks made against Hindu deities by Muslim man in Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh
Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh, India 
4 June, 2026
Case Summary
In the Kannauj district of Uttar Pradesh, Hindu sentiments were outraged after derogatory remarks were made against Hindu deities by a Muslim man named Ehtesham Khan. According to reports, the accused, Ehtesham Khan, posted objectionable comments targeting Hindu gods and goddesses on an online platform. The comments circulated widely on social media, causing outrage among local Hindu residents and members of Hindu organisations, who called the posts an insult to their religious beliefs and a deliberate act that hurt Hindu sentiments. Following the circulation of the comments, Bajrang Dal activists and local Hindu residents approached the police on 5 June 2026, seeking legal action against the accused. Siddhant Patel, a resident of Lala Mishra Mohalla in the Sadar Kotwali area, submitted a formal complaint along with screenshots of the social media account and the objectionable comments. Bajrang Dal members, including Siddhant Patel and Pankaj Mishra, also reached the Sadar police station and demanded strict action against the individual responsible for posting the remarks. The social media account from which the comments were posted was operated in the name of Ehtesham Khan. Information provided to the police indicated that the accused was originally from Jalalpur Sarwan village in the Sadar Kotwali area and was residing in Mumbai at the time. The incident generated anger among Hindu organisations and religious followers in the district, prompting calls for legal action and the blocking of the account used to disseminate the offensive content. Acting on the complaint, the police registered an FIR against Ehtesham Khan and initiated an investigation into the matter. Kannauj Superintendent of Police Vinod Kumar confirmed that a case had been registered and directed the Sadar Kotwali police to proceed with appropriate action. Station House Officer Jitendra Pratap Singh stated that a police team had been formed to trace the accused and carry out further investigation.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The primary category for this case is "Hate speech against Hindus". The sub-category here is "Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith". Anti-Hindu slurs and the deliberate mocking of the Hindu faith owing to religious animosity involve the usage of derogatory terms, stereotypes, or offensive references to religious practices, symbols, or figures. One of the common anti-Hindu slurs used against Hindus is “cow-worshipper” and “cow piss drinker”. The intention of using this term is to demean and mock Hindus as a group and their religious beliefs since Hindus consider the cow holy. Additionally, some symbols and the slurs attached to them have a historical context that exacerbates the insult, hate, stereotyping, dehumanisation and oppression against Hindus. Cow worship has been used for centuries to denigrate Hindus, insult their faith and oppress Hindus specifically as a religious group. There has been overwhelming documentation about how cow slaughter has been used to persecute Hindus with cow meat being thrown in temples and places of worship. There has also been overwhelming documentation where cow meat (beef) has been force-fed to Hindus to either forcefully convert them to Islam or denigrate their faith. Apart from cow worship, the Swastika – which holds deep religious significance for the Hindus – has also been misinterpreted and distorted to use as a slur against Hindus. Similarly, the worship of the Shivling has been used by supremacist ideologies and religions to denigrate Hindus owing to religious animosity. Such slurs and denigration stem out of inherent animosity and hate towards Hindus and their faith, therefore, it is categorised as hate speech targeted at Hindus specifically owing to their religious identity. This case has been added to the hate crime database because the accused, Ehtesham Khan, posted derogatory and objectionable comments targeting Hindu gods and goddesses on a public social media platform, thereby insulting the religious beliefs and sacred figures revered by the Hindu community. The accused used social media to disseminate content that denigrated Hindu deities, knowingly targeting objects of worship that hold profound religious significance for millions of Hindus. Such actions went beyond mere expression of opinion and constituted a deliberate act that hurt the religious sentiments of Hindu devotees and generated widespread anger among members of the Hindu community. Hindu gods and goddesses occupy a central and sacred place within Hinduism and are venerated daily by millions of worshippers. They represent the foundation of Hindu religious identity, spiritual practice, and cultural tradition. Consequently, derogatory remarks directed at Hindu deities are not considered merely as offensive speech but as direct attacks on the faith, beliefs, and religious dignity of Hindus. By posting indecent comments about Hindu deities, the accused displayed contempt towards Hindu religious beliefs and targeted sacred figures in a manner that was insulting, provocative, and offensive to practising Hindus. The communal nature of the incident was further intensified by the use of social media as the medium of dissemination. The accused did not confine the remarks to a private conversation or a limited audience. Instead, the comments were published on a publicly accessible platform where they could be viewed, shared, and circulated widely. The content subsequently spread on social media, attracting public attention and provoking outrage among Hindu residents and organisations in Kannauj. Social media significantly amplifies the reach and impact of hateful or inflammatory content, allowing insults directed at a religious community to reach a much larger audience and inflict collective emotional harm on members of that community. The incident also reflected a broader pattern in which Hindu religious symbols, deities, and beliefs are targeted through provocative online content designed to offend, mock, or attract attention through sacrilege. Such actions contribute to the normalisation of anti-Hindu hostility in digital spaces by treating insults against the Hindu faith and objects of worship as acceptable forms of expression. The accused's conduct demonstrated disregard for Hindu religious sentiments and amounted to the public denigration of sacred figures deeply revered by Hindus. For these reasons, the case has been categorised under the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker under the category of hate speech against Hindus. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incidents based on when an event occurred or when the victim's ordeal began. In this case, the exact date on which the objectionable comments were posted on social media could not be independently verified from available reports. Therefore, for documentation purposes, the incident date has been recorded based on when the Bajrang Dal activists reached the police station and filed the complaint, 5 June 2026.
Case Status
Complaint registered
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
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