Multiple idols of Goddess Kali set ablaze as Hindu artisan's workshop torched in revenge attack ahead of Kali Puja
Bardhaman, West Bengal, India 
27 October, 2026
Case Summary
In Chhoto Nilpur's Subhashpara area of Burdwan, West Bengal, multiple idols of Goddess Kali were burnt when a Hindu artisan's idol-making workshop was set ablaze ahead of Kali Puja. The fire destroyed 25–35 Kali idols prepared for the Hindu festival, along with their straw frameworks, decorative materials, and other sacred idol-making supplies. The incident struck at the religious preparations for Kali Puja and devastated the work of a Hindu idol artisan and his family just days before the festival. The workshop was owned by Subodh Das, a traditional idol artisan, whose family had been engaged in preparing Kali idols for several major clubs and Puja committees ahead of the festival. His son, Abir Das, also helped run the workshop. The establishment employed three to four additional workers, all of whom depended on the idol-making business for their livelihood. The family had been working round the clock to complete around 25–35 Kali idols. The workshop housed a substantial stock of raw materials, straw frameworks, decorative items, tools, equipment and other essential supplies required for idol-making. The incident followed a series of thefts in the Chhoto Nilpur, Subhashpara area, with residents reporting repeated thefts at a nearby grill-manufacturing factory. On the morning of 27 October 2026, at around 5:00–5:30 am, residents caught a suspected thief red-handed along with his battery-operated rickshaw. Subodh Das had also helped the locals apprehend the individual, who was subsequently handed over to the police and taken to the police station. Police also detained the rickshaw in connection with the incident. The development sparked resentment among the apprehended individual's family members and associates, who, according to the affected family and residents, harboured a grudge over the incident. In the early hours of 28 October 2026, between approximately 2:30 am and 2:45 am, a massive fire broke out at Subodh Das's idol-making workshop. The family said that individuals associated with the apprehended thief had deliberately set the workshop ablaze in retaliation for his earlier detention by the police and the withholding of his toto. The flames quickly engulfed the premises, consuming the idols of Goddess Kali and the materials stored inside. Upon noticing the fire, residents rushed to the spot and began firefighting efforts, drawing water from a submersible pump and a nearby pond to contain the blaze. Residents eventually brought the fire under control between 4:30 am and 5:00 am, after nearly two hours of sustained effort. By the time the fire was brought under control, the workshop and its contents had suffered extensive damage. Around 25–35 Kali idols, along with their straw frameworks and decorative embellishments, had been reduced to ashes. The blaze also destroyed the raw materials, idol-making supplies, tools, equipment and other essential manufacturing materials stored on the premises. A vehicle parked at the workshop, a motorcycle, a bicycle belonging to the artisan's son and an air-conditioning pipe were also gutted in the fire. The workshop was left almost entirely reduced to ashes, with the total financial loss estimated at over ₹1 lakh. Following the incident, a written complaint was lodged at Burdwan Police Station, following which the police launched an investigation into the matter. Investigators began examining the circumstances surrounding the fire, the involvement of individuals associated with the apprehended thief and the connection with the earlier theft-related confrontation. The police also sought to ascertain whether the workshop had been deliberately set ablaze in an act of retaliation or whether the fire had originated for some other reason.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case is being added to the Undecided database of Hinduphobia Tracker because the details currently available do not establish that the crime was motivated by religious animosity towards Hindus or their faith. In this case, multiple sacred idols of Goddess Kali were burnt after a Hindu artisan's idol-making workshop was set ablaze ahead of Kali Puja. The nature of the incident raises questions about whether the act was intended to target Hindu religious sentiments or was motivated by hostility towards the faith. To understand the seriousness of such an incident, it is important to recognise the religious significance of Goddess Kali and her idols in Hinduism. For Hindus, idols of Goddess Kali are not merely physical representations but sacred forms of the deity, worshipped with deep devotion and reverence. They hold particular significance during Kali Puja, when devotees offer prayers, perform pujas and aartis, organise community celebrations and seek the Goddess's blessings. The deliberate burning of these idols therefore destroyed figures of profound religious significance and disrupted the religious preparations of several Hindu clubs and Puja committees, causing distress to the artisan family and the wider Hindu community. The Hinduphobia Tracker has documented nearly 1,444 cases of attacks on Hindu religious representations over a period of three years (1 January 2023 to 2 November 2026), involving the desecration or targeting of Hindu idols, temples, religious customs and practices by anti-Hindu perpetrators. The scale and recurrence of such incidents provide an important context for assessing cases involving the desecration of Hindu religious symbols. In the present case, the burning of multiple sacred idols of Goddess Kali similarly raises suspicion about whether the act was motivated by religious hostility towards Hinduism and the Hindu community. While the available information does not conclusively establish a religious motive, the broader pattern of documented attacks on Hindu religious representations makes the question of religious hostility relevant and warrants careful consideration when examining the motive behind the offence. However, the currently available information does not establish that the individuals responsible for setting Subodh Das's idol-making workshop on fire were motivated by religious animosity towards Hinduism or the Hindu community. According to the accounts provided by the affected family and residents, the suspected motive was retaliation following the apprehension of a suspected thief, who had been handed over to the police along with his rickshaw, which was subsequently withheld. The family and residents suspected that individuals associated with the apprehended person had set the workshop ablaze out of resentment over the incident. This explanation points towards a possible motive rooted in personal vengeance rather than hostility towards the Hindu faith. While this motive does not in any way diminish the seriousness of the destruction of sacred idols of Goddess Kali or the religious distress caused by their burning ahead of Kali Puja, the available case details do not provide sufficient evidence to conclusively establish that the offence was specifically driven by anti-Hindu hostility. Therefore, despite the serious nature of the incident and the religious significance of the idols destroyed, the perpetrator's motive cannot currently be classified as specifically driven by anti-Hindu hostility. Therefore, despite the serious nature of the desecration and the legitimate suspicion raised by such an act, the perpetrator's motive cannot currently be classified as religiously motivated. Hinduphobia Tracker applies strict parameters before classifying an incident as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the available evidence does not establish that the desecration was driven by hostility towards Hinduism or the Hindu community, this case does not currently meet the criteria for such a classification. It is therefore being added to the Undecided database of the Hinduphobia Tracker. If further information emerges demonstrating that religious hostility towards Hinduism or Hindus was a motivating factor behind the act, the case will be reassessed and subsequently added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Unknown
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
