Hindu monastery and temple land targeted for attempted encroachment, female saint physically assaulted by Muslim men

Case ID : 45f50b3 | Location : Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India | Date of Incident : Wed, 10 December, 2025

Case ID : 45f50b3

Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India

10 December, 2025

Hindu monastery and temple land targeted for attempted encroachment, female saint physically assaulted by Muslim men

Attack on Hindu religious representations

Encroachment or illicit takeover of temple land/land near temple

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

In Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, a Hindu monastery and temple land was targeted for attempted encroachment by Muslim men. The accused also assaulted and threatened the 85-year-old female saint and priest of the temple monastery. According to reports, this incident is from the Baba Shri Kedareshwar Mahadev Math in Devbhoomi Rishikesh. 85-year-old female saint Mata Ganga Giri was assaulted by some youths from the Muslim community and forced to flee the monastery. The accused youth also attempted to illegally occupy the temple's land. This incident created religious tensions in the area. Recognising the gravity of the matter, Mata Ganga Giri approached the court. She pleaded for protection and assistance, which the court granted in her favour and ordered the administration to take action. Reports confirm that as soon as the administration left after taking action, these Muslim perpetrators returned to the monastery and again assaulted and abused the elderly priest. The accused openly threatened to keep the administration in their pockets and possessed multiple Aadhaar cards issued in different names.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

The primary category selected in this case is- Attack on Hindu religious representations. The subcategory selected is- Encroachment or illicit takeover of temple land/land near temple. In Hinduism, a temple is the abode of the Deity. The Deity in the Temple is consecrated, thereby, making it a real, breathing entity. Hindus believe that not just the Deity but the temple premises itself are sacred to Hindus since Hindus hold the faith that the entire Temple space is an amalgamation of the divine energy of the deity. Not only the Temple but the Temple premises in its entirety are considered sacred by Hindus. In several cases, the premises of the Temple and/or religious centre are illicitly taken over by institutions belonging to other faiths – like the Waqf board or the Church. Other times, the temple property, land or the property of religious centres are illicitly encroached by non-Hindu groups. Any illicit take over or encroachment is a crime an initio, however, when non-Hindu groups illicitly take over or encroach the sacred land of Hindus, it is an affront to the Hindu community and is therefore classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. Another primary category selected is- Attack not resulting in death. The subcategory selected 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. In this case, the Muslim accused brazenly attempted to illegally encroach upon sacred Hindu temple and monastery land by force. Hindu temples and monasteries like the Baba Shri Kedareshwar Mahadev Math serve as abodes of revered Hindu deities where religious and spiritual traditions of Hinduism's sects continue unbroken. The surrounding land holds equal sanctity as part of the sacred precinct where the deity resides. By deliberately targeting these holy lands for illegal seizure, the Muslim accused demonstrated religious animosity towards Hinduism. This attack on spaces central to Hindu identity constitutes an anti-Hindu hate crime. Considering the accused's religious animosity towards Hindus that drove them to target the temple land, their repeated assaults on 85-year-old saint Mata Ganga Giri—the female priest safeguarding the monastery—confirm unrelenting persecution based on her faith. These Muslim youths physically attacked the saint multiple times and forced her to flee to seize control. Such attacks on an elderly woman upholding Hindu monastic traditions targeted her Hindu identity as a saint devoted to Lord Shiva. Her overt Hindu identity made her the direct target of violence and intimidation by the Muslim accused. These assaults on the temple priest for embodying Hinduism constitute a religiously motivated hate crime. After the administration left following a court ruling ordering action, the Muslim accused brazenly returned, assaulted the 85-year-old female saint again, and threatened her that the administration remained in their pocket. This defiance demonstrates utter contempt for the law and deep religious animosity towards Hindus, as the perpetrators targeted the saint's overt faith identity with repeated violence to seize sacred land, showing no fear of consequences while mocking judicial authority—clear hallmarks of a religiously motivated hate crime. In summary, these elements—forced encroachment on sacred Hindu land and vicious assaults on the saint tied to her religious identity—precisely match the criteria for inclusion in the Hinduphobia Tracker's hate crime database. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records the dates of incidents based on when the crime occurs rather than when it is reported by the media. However, in this particular case, media reports have not specified the exact date when the crime occurred or when the victim’s ordeal began. Therefore, for the purpose of documenting this crime, the date on which the media reported it, that is, 11th December 2025, is being used as the indicative date of the incident. This is done for documentation purposes only.