Hindu deities targeted with derogatory social media posts; Hindu family received death threats for objecting

Case ID : 30a9802 | Location : Maharajganj, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Sun, 12 July, 2026

Case ID : 30a9802

Maharajganj, Uttar Pradesh, India

12 July, 2026

Hindu deities targeted with derogatory social media posts; Hindu family received death threats for objecting

Hate speech against Hindus

Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim

Case Summary

In Maharajganj, Uttar Pradesh, Hindu religious sentiments were hurt after some unidentified individuals from Jagdishpur village, under the Bhitauli police station area, posted objectionable comments targeting Hindu deities on Facebook. When a Hindu family opposed these remarks, they were threatened with death by the perpetrators. According to reports, the accused posted offensive remarks about Hindu gods and goddesses on the Facebook account of the son of Reshma Devi, a Hindu woman from the Mithaura police station area in Maharajganj district. The derogatory comments hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindu family and the wider Hindu community. The incident escalated after the Hindu family objected to the objectionable remarks targeting Hindu deities. On 13 July 2026, a large number of accused individuals arrived at the family's residence and threatened the Hindu victims with death for opposing the offensive comments. Reshma Devi also stated that her son, who was employed in Dubai at the time, received serious threats through social media in connection with the same incident. Following the threats, members of the Rashtriya Bajrang Dal, led by District President Vishal Pushkar, submitted a memorandum to the Superintendent of Police (SP), Maharajganj, demanding strict legal action against the accused. The organisation sought a thorough investigation into the incident, registration of an FIR under the appropriate legal provisions, stringent action against those responsible for posting objectionable remarks about Hindu deities and threatening the victims, protection for the victim's family, and legal action against those using social media to spread religious hostility. Police stated that the matter was under investigation and that further action would be taken after the inquiry was completed in accordance with the applicable legal process.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

In this case, the primary category selected is: Hate speech against Hindus. The subcategory for this case 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 from 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. The other primary category selected 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. This case is a clear example of a religiously motivated hate crime, as the perpetrators posted derogatory remarks targeting Hindu deities and subsequently threatened the Hindu family with death when they objected to these offensive comments. The threats were not random but were a direct response to the family's defence of their religious beliefs and sacred figures. The combination of anti-Hindu abuse and intimidation of those who opposed it demonstrates clear religious hostility, making this a religiously motivated hate crime. The act of abusing Hindu deities itself amounts to a clear case of religiously motivated hate speech. In Hinduism, deities are not merely symbolic figures but are revered as sacred manifestations of the Divine and form the very foundation of Hindu religious belief, worship and spiritual practice. For millions of Hindus, gods and goddesses such as Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu, Goddess Durga, Lord Ganesha, Lord Hanuman and others are deeply venerated and worshipped through daily prayers, rituals, festivals and temple traditions. They are regarded as embodiments of divine virtues and occupy a central place in the religious, spiritual and cultural identity of the Hindu community. Deliberately posting abusive or derogatory remarks against these revered deities is therefore not simply an act of offensive expression or criticism; it is a direct attack on what Hindus hold sacred. Such conduct is intended to insult and demean the religious beliefs of Hindus, making it a clear instance of religiously motivated hate speech rooted in anti-Hindu hostility. By targeting the sacred figures of Hinduism, the perpetrators demonstrated hostility towards the religion itself and its followers, making this a clear case of a religiously driven hate crime. The subsequent threats issued to the Hindu family, including the social media threats directed at Reshma Devi's son, who was residing in Dubai at the time, further reinforce the religiously motivated nature of the incident. The threats were not issued in isolation but came only after the family objected to the derogatory remarks made against Hindu deities, demonstrating that the victims were specifically targeted for defending their faith and objecting to anti-Hindu abuse. Rather than withdrawing the offensive content or engaging peacefully, the perpetrators resorted to intimidation and death threats in an apparent attempt to silence the victims and deter them from protesting the insult to their religion. This escalation from hate speech to direct threats against the victims illustrates a pattern in which Hindus are subjected to intimidation for resisting anti-Hindu hostility and standing up for their religious beliefs. The threats against both the family at their residence and Reshma Devi's son through social media further indicate that the perpetrators sought to create fear among the victims because they refused to remain silent in the face of insults directed at Hinduism. This makes it a clear case of a religiously driven hate crime targeting Hindus for defending their faith and religious identity. Since this case meets the parameters of a hate crime, it is being added to the Hinduphobia Tracker hate crime database. Disclaimer: Hinduphobia Tracker records incidents based on the date on which the crime occurred rather than the date on which it was reported in the media. However, in this case, the media reports do not specify the exact date on which the objectionable social media posts were made or when the incident first began. The only specific date mentioned is 13 July 2026, when a large number of accused individuals reached the Hindu family's residence and threatened them with death after they objected to the derogatory remarks against Hindu deities. Accordingly, 13 July 2026 has been recorded as the incident date. This is an indicative date selected for documentation purposes based on the information available in the public domain. Although the victims in this case comprised the entire Hindu family, the media reports specifically identify only two individuals by reference: Reshma Devi and her son. Therefore, the victim count has been recorded as two for documentation purposes. This count is based solely on the information available in the source reports and does not imply that no other members of the family were affected.