Targeted insult to Hindu faith: Muslim man mocks deities, raises “I Love Muhammad” slogans in Varanasi
Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India 
3 October, 2025
Case Summary
In Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, Hindu religious sentiments were outraged after a Muslim man named Bhothu Hashmi insulted Hindu deities by posting obscene and derogatory comments on social media. According to reports, Hashmi, a resident of Nevada, Phulpur, deliberately targeted Hindu gods and goddesses through vulgar remarks and attempted to provoke the Hindu community by shouting “I love Muhammad” slogans in front of them. A Hindu man named Avneesh Singh Vicky filed a complaint, stating that Hashmi had been repeatedly posting objectionable and inflammatory content from his social media account. Based on his complaint, a case was registered under sections 196(2) and 299 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and an investigation was initiated. The incident triggered widespread anger, with several local BJP leaders and Hindu residents gathering at the police station to demand strict action. The police, led by Inspector Praveen Kumar Singh, swiftly arrested the accused. His arrest helped restore calm in the area, and Hashmi was sent to jail under the relevant legal provisions.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been 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 has been added to the hate crime database as the accused, a Muslim, deliberately posted derogatory remarks against Hindu deities to insult the religious sentiments of the Hindu community. Hindu deities are an integral part of the Hindu religion and are highly revered by Hindus. Any attempt to mock or abuse them is born out of animosity towards Hinduism and serves as a symbolic attack on its sanctity. Though his comments were not made public, the complainant stated that the accused had been continuously making objectionable comments against Hindu gods and goddesses on his social media. These remarks were not random or misguided; they were premeditated and calculated, designed to provoke, demean, and assert dominance over the Hindu faith and its adherents. In addition to derogatory posts, the accused also attempted to provoke the Hindu community by raising slogans of “I love Mohammad” in front of them. The “I Love Mohammad” campaign, started in Kanpur, was not merely a display of religious pride but an assertion of Islamic supremacy, often accompanied by intimidation and violence against Hindus. Across the country, Hindus were threatened, temples attacked, and mobs raised chilling slogans such as “Sar tan se juda,” threatening beheadings. In Bareilly, the FIR described how a Muslim crowd, mobilised under the “I Love Mohammad” banner, armed themselves with petrol bombs, stones, country-made firearms, and sharp weapons to attack security forces and intimidate Hindus. In this context, “I Love Mohammad” was not a random slogan; when combined with abusive remarks against Hindu deities, it constituted a deliberate assertion of Islamic dominance over the Hindu community, rooted in religious animosity. In recent times, social media has increasingly become a platform for anti-Hindu hate, with derogatory memes, videos, and messages targeting Hindu religious symbols, practices, and deities. Such content forms part of a broader pattern of Hinduphobia and religiously motivated hate crimes online. This deliberate targeting of revered religious icons firmly establishes the accused’s actions as a religiously motivated hate crime; therefore, it is being categorised under the hate crime database. Disclaimer: Hinduphobia Tracker generally records the date of an incident based on when the crime actually occurred, rather than the date it is reported in the media. However, in this case, media reports do not specify the exact date when the objectionable comments were made by the accused. Therefore, the date of the incident has been recorded as 4th October 2025 - the date on which the complaint was filed.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
