Hindu temple desecrated and defiled; miscreants break Hanuman idol and throw meat in the premises, Shivling goes missing
Prayagraj (Allahabad), Uttar Pradesh, India 
6 September, 2026
Case Summary
In Kuresar village, Nawabganj, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, a Hindu temple was desecrated and defiled. Unidentified miscreants broke and damaged the Hanuman idol, took it outside the temple and left it in a shattered condition. The sacred Shivling was found missing from its place inside the temple, and meat was thrown into the temple premises. The temple is located about 500 metres west of Kuresar village, in a field. Some reports described the Hanuman and Shankar temple as more than 100 years old, while others described the Hanuman temple as about seven years old. According to villagers, about 100 years ago, Gauri Shankar Dubey, the maternal ancestor of Om Prakash Dubey and Paras Nath Dubey, built the Hanuman temple near the house. The family later moved near the village primary school after being troubled by mischievous elements. The damage came to light on the morning of 7 September 2026 when Om Prakash Dubey, one of the temple caretakers, went to perform puja and found the broken Hanuman idol lying outside. Another report stated that Paras Nath Dubey, the other caretaker, discovered the damage when he went to the temple for worship. As news of the incident spread, devotees and residents gathered at the temple in large numbers, angering villagers. The incident was reported to the Dandi Police Outpost, following which Dandi Outpost In-charge Surya Prakash Singh reached the spot with a police team, inspected the scene and informed senior officials. Nawabganj Inspector Pankaj Awasthi and Assistant Commissioner of Police, Soraon, Shyamjeet Pramila Singh, also reached the site with police personnel. The officers spoke to the assembled villagers, pacified them and assured them that strict action would be taken against those responsible. Paras Nath Dubey, a resident of Kuresar village and one of the temple's caretakers, submitted a complaint to the police. He was identified as the son of late Girishankar Dubey. Based on his complaint, Nawabganj police registered a case against unknown persons and began an investigation. Inspector Pankaj Awasthi said the police were questioning people in the surrounding area and examining all aspects of the incident. Police officials said a new idol had been brought for the temple. It was to be installed after an auspicious time had been determined, following the prescribed religious rituals and consecration. ACP Soraon Shyamjeet Pramila Singh said a police team had been deployed to identify anti-social elements who had conspired to disturb the atmosphere of the religious place. The police said they would arrest those identified and take legal action against them. Those named as being present at the spot or among the residents following the incident included Bharatiya Janata Party media in-charge Umesh Tiwari, Sunil Tiwari Rudra, Sudhir Pandey, Brijesh Dubey, former village head Krishna Pal, Block Development Council member Om Prakash Patel, Sanjay Yadav, Tulsiram Patel, Panchu Ram Yadav, Guddu Tiwari, Rakesh Dubey and Abhishek Dubey, as well as the temple caretakers Paras Nath Dubey and Om Prakash Dubey, along with a large number of other villagers.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The primary category selected in this case is: Attack on Hindu religious representations. The subcategory selected is: Desecration of Hindu religious symbol. Icons and symbols, or religious representations 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 great significance to Hindus, to which daily rituals, prayers and offerings are made. 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 a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. The second subcategory selected is: Attack on Temples. In Hinduism, a temple is the abode of the Deity. The Deity in the Temple is consecrated, thereby making it a real, breathing entity. Hindus believe that not just the Deity but the temple premises themselves are sacred to Hindus since Hindus hold the faith that the entire Temple space is an amalgamation of the divine energy of the deity. Given the central significance of Temples in Hindu Dharma, any attack against a Hindu Temple or its peripheral premises is an attack on the faith itself and is born out of animosity towards the faith, of which the Temple is a central tenet. Any manner of attack against a Temple and/or its premises would therefore be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. The other subcategory selected is: Defiling religious customs. Sanatan Dharma is not a religion of one book, which is to say that while it has religious scriptures that form the central tenets of the faith, there are several traditions followed through thousands of years, mostly passed from generation to generation orally. There are several such customs and traditions that are followed by various Hindus and Hindu sects. Defiling these traditions and customs is a breach of an individual or group’s religious practices. Such practices can range from dietary restrictions like not eating non-vegetarian food for a certain period of the year, not eating non-vegetarian food at all, not eating beef since the cow is considered holy in Hinduism, the sanctity of religious customs followed in the house (like many ISCKON devotees), etc. Any malicious action leading to the breach of such traditions or defilement of these traditions owing to animosity towards the faith or for the sake of activism stems not only from the lack of faith in the religion itself but also from disregard for the faith of the devotees who follow the customs/traditions and implicit bias against the faith and the tradition itself. Since these specific traditions are central to the faith of the devotees of that specific sect of Hindus, any non-compliance with these traditional rules would be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. This case was included in the Hinduphobia Tracker because a Hindu temple and the consecrated religious representations enshrined within it, including the Hanuman idol and Shivling, were deliberately desecrated and defiled. The perpetrators vandalised sacred objects central to Hindu religious practice and devotion, with meat also thrown into the temple premises. Such acts went beyond ordinary property damage, directly targeting a sacred Hindu place of worship and the religious symbols revered by Hindus. Firstly, the Hindu temple, as a place dedicated to Hindu worship, holds religious significance far beyond ordinary property. It is a sacred space where Hindus gather for prayer, ritual observance, and devotion to Hindu deities. Its desecration therefore affected the sanctity of a space central to Hindu religious life. Damaging or defiling such a place is an affront to the religious environment in which Hindus worship and maintain their connection with the Divine. The violation of the temple space thus targeted a distinctly Hindu religious institution and its sacred character. Lord Hanuman holds a deeply revered and prominent position in Hinduism. He is worshipped as a divine embodiment of strength, courage, loyalty, selfless service and unwavering devotion to Lord Rama. He is also revered as a protector and a source of spiritual strength, and his consecrated idols are installed in Hindu temples and homes as sacred representations of his divine presence. Devotees offer prayers, flowers, lamps and other forms of worship before his image, treating it with profound reverence. In this case, the Hanuman idol was broken, removed from the temple and left shattered outside the shrine. This constituted a direct desecration of a sacred representation of a Hindu deity and a violation of an object central to Hindu worship. The deliberate destruction and removal of the idol therefore attacked a tangible and revered expression of Hindu faith, disrupted the sanctity of the shrine and directly offended the religious sentiments of Hindu devotees. The removal of the Shivling formed another religious marker. The Shivling holds an especially sacred and central place in Hinduism as the revered representation of Lord Shiva. Hindu traditions worship it as a sacred embodiment of Shiva's divine presence and a principal focus of puja, prayer, offerings, and ritual devotion. Shivlings are consecrated within temples and shrines, where devotees approach them with reverence and perform established religious rituals. Here, the Shivlinga was removed from its established place inside the temple and found missing. This directly violated a consecrated object of Hindu worship and disrupted the sanctity of the shrine. The removal of the Shivling was therefore a direct affront to Hindu religious practice, as it deprived devotees of a sacred representation through which they worship and honour Lord Shiva and desecrated an essential element of the temple's religious space. Also, meat being thrown inside the temple premises further violated the sanctity of a Hindu place of worship. A temple is regarded as a sacred environment where ritual purity, worship, and religious observance are maintained. Introducing animal flesh into such a space was therefore deeply offensive to the shrine's religious character. In this case, meat was found inside the temple premises alongside the damage to the sacred representations. This further defiled an environment dedicated to Hindu worship and compounded the violation of the temple's religious sanctity. Taken together, these markers demonstrate that the objects and space affected were specifically connected with Hindu worship, Hindu deities and Hindu religious practice. The incident affected a Hindu temple, the consecrated representation of Hanuman, the Shivling associated with Lord Shiva and the sanctity of the worship space. The acts described in the case therefore directly offended Hindu religious sentiments by violating objects and a place that Hindus hold sacred and use to practice and express their faith. Accordingly, this case has been documented in the Hinduphobia Tracker's Hate Crime Database as an instance of religiously motivated hostility directed against Hinduism and the religious identity of the Hindu community. It is important to mention here that, though the last update stated that the miscreants were unknown, the action stemmed from hatred against Hinduism and resulted in the desecration of the sacred temple and would therefore be considered a religiously motivated hate crime.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Unknown
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
