Hindu deities abused, Hindu activist attacked by Muslims for standing up for Hindu cause

Case ID : 3234593 | Location : Nanded, Maharashtra, India | Date of Incident : Fri, 10 October, 2025

Case ID : 3234593

Nanded, Maharashtra, India

10 October, 2025

Hindu deities abused, Hindu activist attacked by Muslims for standing up for Hindu cause

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim

Hate speech against Hindus

Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith

Doxxing and harassment of Hindu for religious reasons

Case Summary

A Hindu activist and social worker named Harshu Thakur has been receiving death threats and targeted with morphed and obscene videos by Muslims for standing up for the Hindu cause and Hindutva. These Islamists also denigrated Hindu deities while harassing the activist. On October 11, 2025, she was physically attacked at a local bakery in Nanded, Maharashtra, while she was on her way to file an FIR over repeated death threats she had been receiving from Islamist individuals. The attack was carried out by Sohel Sheikh, who, according to Harshu, appeared to recognise her and made objectionable remarks before assaulting her. Harshu filed a formal complaint against the attacker and a complaint was registered. The incident marks a serious escalation in a long series of threats she has faced in recent months, many of which reportedly originated from individuals already named in earlier police complaints. Harshu has been the target of continuous death threats and abuse, with calls coming from both Indian and foreign numbers, including those traced to Middle Eastern countries. The threats intensified after she publicly supported Hindu transgender victims in Nanded and Parbhani who had spoken out about being pressured to convert to Islam by Muslim transgenders through threats, violence, and humiliation. Several Hindu transgender individuals had revealed that they were subjected to extortion, assault, and religious coercion, and even thrown off moving trains for refusing to abandon their faith. Harshu had been working to bring these testimonies to light and help the victims seek justice. In one of her earlier complaints, she had named Mohd Salman, who had openly issued death threats to her and boasted online about targeting her. In an audio clip submitted as evidence, Salman can be heard saying, “Tere ko maarna tha...” (You were meant to be killed). Despite multiple FIRs, no decisive action had yet been taken by Nanded Police. The Hinduphobia Tracker team reached out to Harshu Thakur soon after news of the attack surfaced. During the conversation, Harshu narrated the entire sequence of events in detail, beginning from the moment she started receiving threatening calls and online abuse to the physical assault at the bakery in Nanded. The Hinduphobia Tracker team also reviewed screenshots shared by Harshu Thakur, showing the nature of the threats and abuse directed toward her. The messages, sent from an international number registered in Saudi Arabia, contained not only graphic death threats but also explicit sexual abuse and profanity targeting both Harshu and Hindu deities. The perpetrator repeatedly insulted Hindu gods and used deeply derogatory and obscene language against Maa Sita and the Bhagwa (saffron) identity, calling Hindus terrorists and issuing violent threats to murder Harshu. These messages demonstrate a clear pattern of religious hatred and gendered abuse, showing that the threats were not personal alone but were motivated by deep-seated animosity toward Hindu identity and faith. She recounted how the attacker, Sohel Sheikh, appeared to recognise her, made objectionable remarks, and suddenly lunged at her while she was on her way to the police station to file yet another FIR regarding the death threats she had been receiving. Harshu shared that despite submitting multiple complaints in the past, including complaints dating back to 2023, including audio recordings and screenshots of the threats, the lack of timely police action had emboldened the perpetrators. She also spoke of her ongoing efforts to support Hindu transgender victims who had faced violent religious coercion in Nanded and Parbhani, stating that the intimidation she faced was a direct consequence of her activism and her refusal to remain silent in the face of religiously motivated hate. The incident was first reported in detail by X (formerly Twitter) user Treeni (@TheTreeni), who shared a comprehensive account of the attack along with screenshots, call records, and evidence of the threats received by Harshu Thakur.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

The primary category in this case is: Attack not resulting in death. The first subcategory under this is: Attacked for Hindu identity. In several cases, Hindus are attacked merely for their Hindu identity without any perceived provocation. A classic example of this category of religiously motivated hate crime is a murder in 2016. 7 ISIS terrorists were convicted for shooting a school principal in Kanpur because they got ‘triggered’ seeing the Kalava on his wrist and tilak that he had put. In this, the Hindu victim had offered no provocation except for his Hindu religious identity. The motivation for the murder was purely religious, driven by religious supremacy. Such cases where Hindus are targeted merely for their religious identity would be documented as a hate crime under this category. Another subcategory under this is: Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim. In several cases, Hindus are attacked for opposing religiously motivated crimes being committed against a fellow Hindu or simply for voicing an opinion opposing radical elements, who either have in the past or continue to persecute Hindus. In such cases, the initial attack against the victim, against which the Hindu was trying to defend the victim, would also need to be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the initial crime itself was religiously motivated and the subsequent crime of attempting to save the victim or speaking against the radical elements ends up inviting a violent attack, it would also be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. Another primary category in this case is: Hate speech against Hindus. The first subcategory under this 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. Another subcategory under this is: Doxxing and harassment of Hindu for religious reasons. Doxxing is the act of making available publicly personal, identifiable information of an individual with the intention of compromising their safety, security and privacy. When doxing is done with religious animosity forming the basis of the intention, it often involves severe consequences like loss of employment, physical harm, physical threat, harassment and/or discrimination for the victim’s religious beliefs. Such doxxing also involves projecting the religious beliefs, affiliations, and rituals of the victim, specifically a Hindu, in a manner that can lead to loss of employment, physical harm, physical threat, harassment and/or discrimination. Apart from doxxing, harassment would also include misrepresentation of an individual's views and religious beliefs that would invite abuse, loss of employment, physical harm, physical threat, harassment and/or discrimination owing to religious hate and animosity. There have been several such instances where religious animosity by one section has led to the doxxing and harassment of Hindus. For example, when a Hindu who worked in the UAE commented on the historical persecution of Hindus at the hands of Muslim invaders, his information was leaked online leading to loss of employment, physical harm, physical threat, harassment and/or discrimination. In another case, a Hindu man’s information was leaked online, leading to violent attacks, after he responded with an emoji to a post about Tipu Sultan, the Islamic tyrant who persecuted Hindus. Such cases are born out of intrinsic religious animosity towards Hindus and therefore, would be considered religiously motivated hate speech. The case of the assault on Hindu activist and social worker Harshu Thakur has been added to the Hinduphobia Tracker because it represents a clear and aggravated instance of religiously motivated hate and violence directed at a Hindu individual for her identity and activism. The pattern of threats, intimidation, and physical attack faced by Harshu does not exist in isolation but stems directly from her Hindu identity and her public advocacy for Hindu victims—particularly Hindu transgender individuals who were reportedly coerced to convert to Islam in Nanded and Parbhani. The circumstances of the case reveal both a targeted attempt to silence a Hindu voice opposing radical religious coercion and an effort to instil fear among others who might stand up for Hindu victims of hate crimes. At its core, this incident falls under the primary category of “Attack not resulting in death”, with the first subcategory being “Attacked for Hindu identity.” Harshu’s role as a Hindu activist who openly supports Hindu causes and exposes religiously motivated violence made her a visible target for Islamist extremists. She was not attacked for any personal enmity or non-religious reason, but because her activism challenges extremist groups and highlights the persecution of Hindus. This kind of targeting, rooted in religious animosity, is consistent with earlier hate crime precedents in India and abroad where individuals have been attacked merely for displaying Hindu symbols, participating in Hindu activities, or defending fellow Hindus from religiously motivated aggression. The case also aligns with the subcategory “Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim.” Harshu Thakur became a target because she actively opposed radical Islamist elements and amplified the voices of victims who were themselves targeted on religious grounds. The attack and threats are a direct repercussion of her attempt to protect and empower Hindu victims who were resisting forced conversion. As a result, both her activism and the physical assault against her qualify as religiously motivated crimes, given that the original offences she was addressing—forced conversions, coercion, and violence against Hindus—were themselves hate crimes. Further, the case involves a second primary category: “Hate speech against Hindus.” The messages reviewed by the Hinduphobia Tracker team clearly demonstrate this. The texts sent to Harshu from an international number registered in Saudi Arabia included death threats, extreme profanity, and explicit sexual abuse aimed not just at her personally, but also at Hindu deities and symbols of faith. The language used—specifically the abuse directed at Maa Sita and references to the Bhagwa (saffron) identity—exhibits deep-seated contempt toward Hindu beliefs and seeks to dehumanise Hindus as a collective. Such remarks go beyond individual harassment; they constitute hate speech against an entire faith, attempting to humiliate, provoke, and terrorise adherents of that faith. Within this primary category, the first relevant subcategory is “Anti-Hindu slurs and mocking of faith.” The obscenities hurled at Hindu gods and the usage of religiously charged insults reflect a deliberate intent to demean Hinduism. The attacker’s repeated invocation of derogatory language against Hindu symbols and deities evidences a pattern of ideological hatred similar to the historical use of cow slaughter, temple desecration, and sexualised insults as tools of religious persecution. Hindu deities and gods and goddesses are the central figures of the Hindu faith, representing diverse aspects of the divine and the cosmic order. Their worship forms the core of Hindu spirituality, guiding moral, cultural, and ritual life across generations. The purpose of such speech is not spontaneous expression but to assert religious supremacy by defiling what Hindus hold sacred. Additionally, the case qualifies under the subcategory “Doxxing and harassment of Hindu for religious reasons.” Harshu’s personal details, including her phone number and photographs, have been circulated widely alongside coordinated online abuse campaigns. This harassment is not random but driven by religious animosity, aiming to discredit her work, compromise her safety, and silence her activism. The intersectional nature of the violence—combining misogyny, religious hatred, and retaliation against activism—further underlines its gravity. As a Hindu woman vocal about Hindutva and Hindu rights, Harshu was targeted through methods that simultaneously attacked her gender and her faith. The sexualised abuse of Hindu goddesses in the threats mirrors a longstanding pattern in which Hindu women and female figures are vilified or desecrated as a symbolic means of subjugating the community itself. The attack on Harshu Thakur, therefore, is both a gendered and religiously motivated hate crime. Despite multiple FIRs and evidence including audio clips and screenshots, the persistent inaction of local authorities has emboldened the perpetrators and perpetuated the atmosphere of impunity. The lack of prompt legal intervention contributes to systemic neglect, which in itself becomes a form of structural discrimination, allowing hate-motivated violence against Hindus to go unchecked. In totality, this case encapsulates several intertwined elements of Hinduphobia: the assault of a Hindu activist for defending her community; the explicit religious abuse and desecration of Hindu deities; the gendered nature of the threats; and the administrative indifference that sustains such intimidation. It represents a hate crime against Hindus because it is founded on religious hostility, targeted harassment, and violence driven by prejudice against Hindu identity. By documenting this case, the Hinduphobia Tracker aims to ensure that such religiously motivated crimes—especially those masked as isolated acts—are recognised for what they truly are: systematic, faith-based persecution and intimidation of Hindus and their defenders. The Hinduphobia Tracker has also documented the related case from Nanded and Parbhani involving attacks on Hindu transgender individuals who resisted forced conversion attempts. These victims reported being physically assaulted, extorted, and publicly humiliated by Muslim transgenders after they refused to abandon their Hindu faith and religious practices. Several victims recounted being coerced to consume beef and meat as acts of religious desecration, while others faced repeated threats that they would not be allowed to live in the region unless they accepted Islam. Disclaimer: Although the harassment and threats against the victim had been ongoing for several months, the date of 11 October 2025 has been selected as the date of incident, as it marks the day when she was physically attacked at the bakery in Nanded.