Hindu sentiments hurt as social media user makes derogatory remarks against revered Hindu deities
Kanpur Dehat, Uttar Pradesh, India 
20 October, 2026
Case Summary
In Kanpur Dehat, Uttar Pradesh, derogatory social media posts targeting Hindu deities were made by a woman named Preeti Gautam. The objectionable content, which circulated on social media, outraged Hindu devotees and prompted legal action against the perpetrator. According to media reports, the incident came to light when the perpetrator posted a video denigrating Hindu deities on Facebook and Instagram on 21 October 2026. Anshul Dwivedi, a resident of Pukhrayan, lodged a complaint at Satti Police Station, stating that the posts were objectionable and had the potential to hurt the religious sentiments of followers of Hinduism. He subsequently demanded legal action against the woman. Following the complaint, the police registered a case against Preeti Gautam under relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act and initiated an investigation. Satti Police Station in-charge Kalicharan Kushwaha confirmed that legal proceedings had been initiated and that further action would depend on the findings of the investigation. Notably, the Hinduphobia Tracker team contacted Satti Police to obtain further information about the incident. The police confirmed that the woman's remarks targeting Hindu deities were derogatory and that a video containing the objectionable content had gone viral on social media. They further confirmed that, following the complaint, action had been initiated against her under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act. The police also informed the Hinduphobia Tracker team that Preeti Gautam had a history of making derogatory remarks about Hindu deities on several occasions. According to the police, she had previously been let off after being issued warnings, with the authorities adopting a lenient approach towards her on account of her being a woman. However, despite these warnings and the leniency shown towards her, she continued making derogatory remarks and mocking Hindu deities.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case is being added to the tracker under the primary category: Hate Speech against Hindus. The subcategory selected 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 constituted a clear example of a religiously driven hate crime, as the perpetrator made derogatory remarks targeting Hindu deities on social media. Her actions directly targeted sacred figures of the Hindu faith and displayed hostility towards the religious beliefs of the Hindu community. Hindu deities hold immense religious and spiritual significance for Hindus and are deeply revered and worshipped as sacred manifestations of the divine. Hindus grow up worshipping these deities, offering prayers and participating in religious traditions centred around them. These deities are deeply embedded in Hindu religious and cultural life and form an integral part of the religious and cultural identity of the community. Consequently, any deliberate denigration of these sacred figures directly attacks the religious sentiments and beliefs of Hindus. The act of making derogatory remarks against Hindu deities demonstrated the perpetrator's disregard for the religious sentiments of the Hindu community and her disrespect towards Hinduism. Abusing and denigrating the sacred figures of a particular faith reflected hostility towards that religion and its followers. Such conduct demonstrated deep-seated contempt for Hinduism, making this a clear case of a religiously driven hate crime. The perpetrator was not engaging in legitimate criticism or expressing a difference of opinion on Hindu religious practices or philosophy. Rather, she was denigrating Hindu deities through derogatory remarks. There was a clear distinction between criticism of religious beliefs and the deliberate abuse and humiliation of sacred religious figures. Her conduct therefore constituted religiously targeted hate speech rather than legitimate criticism. The fact that the perpetrator made these remarks on social media further demonstrated that she deliberately chose a public platform to disseminate the derogatory content to a wider audience. By publishing such content on platforms accessible to the Hindu community, she exposed a larger audience to the denigration of their revered deities and hurt their religious sentiments. The deliberate use of social media to circulate such content further reflected her hostility towards Hinduism and its followers. Furthermore, the fact that the perpetrator had a history of making derogatory remarks against Hindu deities and continued doing so despite repeated warnings demonstrated that this was not an isolated or one-off remark made in anger or arising from a misunderstanding. Rather, her repeated conduct indicated a pattern of deliberate hostility towards Hinduism, which she continued to express despite previous warnings and leniency from the authorities. This established the religiously motivated nature of her conduct and made it a clear case of a religiously motivated offence. Given that this case meets the parameters of a hate crime, it is being added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker.
Case Status
Complaint registered
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Others
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
female
Sources 
