Navratri celebrations targeted for desecration; egg hurled at Durga idol immersion procession in Hyderabad, Telangana
Hyderabad, Telangana, India 
24 October, 2026
Case Summary
In Madannapet, Hyderabad, Telangana, a Durga Mata idol immersion procession was targeted for defilement when an egg was thrown towards it by an unidentified miscreant. According to media reports, the incident occurred at around 2 am on 25 October 2026, near Santosh Hotel Lane, within the jurisdiction of Madannapet Police Station in Hyderabad’s Old City. The procession was organised by the Veer Savarkar Nava Yuva Sangham following the conclusion of the Navratri celebrations in 2026. It formed part of the concluding religious observances marking the end of the festival, during which the sacred idols of Goddess Durga, worshipped throughout Navratri, were taken out in processions for immersion as devotees bid farewell to the Goddess. As the procession passed through a lane near Santosh Hotel, an egg was thrown towards it and fell near the procession. Following the incident, Hindu devotees, local residents, members of Hindu organisations and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders gathered at the spot to protest. They staged a sit-in protest (dharna) and sang devotional hymns (bhajans), demanding strict action against those responsible and calling for their identification and punishment for insulting Hindu religious sentiments. After receiving information about the incident through a Dial 100 emergency call, personnel from Madannapet Police Station rushed to the spot and took steps to bring the situation under control. Senior police officials, including Deputy Commissioner of Police Kiran Khare, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Majid, Saidabad Assistant Commissioner of Police Shyam Sunder, Assistant Commissioner of Police Venkat Reddy and Madannapet Station House Officer K. Chandra Sekhar, visited the area and spoke with the procession organisers. Police detained one suspect in connection with the incident and registered a case under Section 299 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Police examined closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident and identify those responsible. Security was also deployed in the area to prevent further tension. Officials stated that the procession organisers had understood the situation and continued with the procession. The situation subsequently returned to normal, and police urged residents not to spread rumours or circulate unverified information on social media and messaging platforms. At the time of writing this report, the police had not disclosed the identity or religious affiliation of the person who threw the egg. Although one suspect had been detained, the investigation remained ongoing, and officials stated that strict legal action would be taken against anyone found responsible. BJP spokesperson Veerender Yadav stated that certain miscreants had deliberately targeted Hindus through such incidents. He also accused the police of targeting Hindu religious processions across Hyderabad by imposing restrictions and resorting to lathi charges during processions.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case is being added to the tracker under the first primary category: Attack not resulting in death. The subcategory selected is: Attack on Hindu religious procession. The outward celebration and display of religious symbols in 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 their 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, is one that 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 second primary category selected is: Attack on Hindu religious representations. The 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 of 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, 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 is a clear example of a religiously driven hate crime, as a Durga Mata idol immersion procession was targeted for desecration when an unidentified miscreant threw an egg towards it. The act desecrated the sanctity of a Hindu religious observance and demonstrated hostility towards Hindu religious practices and sentiments. Durga Puja/Navratri is a significant Hindu festival dedicated to the worship of Goddess Durga, who is revered as the embodiment of divine feminine power and the force that destroys evil. During the festival, idols of the Goddess are worshipped in elaborately decorated pandals, at homes and at community gatherings, where devotees participate in prayers, rituals, devotional singing and other religious observances. These celebrations are conducted with reverence for the Goddess, with established customs observed to maintain the sanctity of worship. Ritual purity holds considerable importance in Hindu worship, where non-vegetarian food items, including eggs, are considered impure and excluded from religious rituals and offerings to preserve their sanctity. The Durga immersion procession marks the conclusion of the festival, as idols of Goddess Durga are carried through the streets before being immersed in water bodies, symbolising the end of the period of worship and the Goddess's farewell. These processions form an integral part of the festival's religious observances and hold profound religious significance for all Hindu devotees. By throwing an egg towards the Durga Mata idol immersion procession, the perpetrator targeted a sacred Hindu religious observance with an object considered ritually impure in Hindu worship, desecrating the procession and defiling the religious customs associated with Durga Puja/Navratri. The act demonstrated contempt for the religious beliefs and practices of the devotees and constituted an attack on Hindu religious expression, reflecting hostility towards the faith and traditions of the Hindu community. Hindu festivals and processions are integral to collective religious identity, enabling devotees to worship their deities and preserve their traditions. Deliberately targeting such an observance for desecration therefore amounted to an affront to Hindu religious sentiments and demonstrated hatred towards Hinduism. This was not an isolated incident of Hindu religious celebrations being desecrated through the use of substances considered ritually impure in Hindu worship. The Hinduphobia Tracker had documented several similar incidents during Navratri and Ganesh Chaturthi in 2026, in which Hindu temples, religious processions and festival celebrations were targeted. In October 2026, in Ayodhya Nagar, Mehdipatnam, Hyderabad, Telangana, unidentified miscreants threw eggs inside the Sri Kanaka Durga Ammavari Temple, including at its tower (gopuram), while Navratri prayers were underway. Eggs were found at several locations within the temple, and women devotees participating in the prayers were also struck by eggs. In another incident in October 2026, in R. K. Puram, Sainikpuri, Hyderabad, Telangana, a Muslim woman dumped fish waste and water used to clean fish outside a Hindu temple where Hindu women were distributing annaprasadam to devotees during Navratri. The act defiled the setting of a religious event involving the distribution of sacred food offerings during a revered Hindu festival. During Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations in 2026, in Mazagaon, South Mumbai, Maharashtra, a Muslim man named Danish Sher Khan threw eggs at a Ganpati idol, the pandal and the accompanying religious procession. The incident triggered tension in the area. The accused stated that fumes from firecrackers had irritated him and that he had thrown the eggs in anger. In another incident in Madannapet, Hyderabad, Telangana, three Muslim residents threw pieces of meat from the seventh floor of an apartment building towards a Ganesh idol immersion procession and an annadanam event. Police described the incident as communal and stated that the meat resembled beef. On 13 October 2026, in Kurla, Mumbai, Maharashtra, three Muslim youths threw an egg towards a Durga pandal during Navratri, targeting a Hindu religious celebration. These incidents demonstrate a recurring pattern of Hindu religious observances being targeted through acts involving eggs, fish waste and meat during major Hindu festivals. The targeting of temples, idols, pandals, immersion processions and religious food distributions highlights repeated acts of desecration that violate the sanctity of Hindu worship and offend the religious sentiments of devotees. In the present case, although the perpetrator’s identity remained unknown at the time of documentation, the act clearly demonstrated hatred towards Hinduism and the Hindu community. Therefore, the case is being added to the Hinduphobia Tracker’s hate crime database. Disclaimer: Although police have detained one suspect in connection with the incident, his identity remains unknown, and it has not been established whether additional perpetrators were involved. Therefore, for documentation purposes, the perpetrator count has been recorded as one at the time of documentation. This count may be updated if further information emerges.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Unknown
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
