Hindu woman harassed and threatened by group of Muslims while visiting temple

Case ID : 5954b3e | Location : Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Fri, 3 January, 2025

Case ID : 5954b3e

Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

3 January, 2025

Hindu woman harassed and threatened by group of Muslims while visiting temple

Attack not resulting in death

Attack against Hindu devotees

Case Summary

In Rasulpur Pangampur Rikauha village, a woman was harassed and threatened by a group of Muslims when she attempted to visit a temple. Monika Gupta, a resident of the village, was on her way to the temple when she was stopped by Iftekhar, the village head’s husband, along with his brother Shamsher, his son Ishtiyak, and another unidentified individual. They reportedly abused her and blocked her path to the temple. When Monika protested, the accused chased her with a stick, forcing her to run back home to save her life. The situation escalated further as the accused followed her, climbed onto her door, and continued to hurl abuses. According to Monika, they also threatened to kill her if she attempted to visit the temple again. Monika revealed that she had an ongoing case against the accused and that they had been pressuring her for a compromise. When she refused, they resorted to daily harassment and intimidation. The incident created tension in the village, as it involved members of two communities. Based on Monika’s complaint, the police registered a case against the four accused, including the village head's husband. Police station in-charge Niket Bhardwaj confirmed that one of the accused had been arrested, and investigations were underway to ensure justice.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category of- Attack not resulting in death. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Attack against Hindu devotees. Hindu devotees are a few of the easiest targets of religiously motivated hate crimes because during the festival/procession/puja etc, for non-Hindus it is easy to profile their victims on the basis of religion. Hindu devotees come under attack on several occasions by individual non-Hindus or mobs of non-Hindus owing to their animosity against Hinduism, its symbols and tradition/practices. There are several instances of Hindu devotees being attacked while they worship in temples or temporary religious structures, during religious processions, doing bhajan/kirtan/puja in their own homes, in the residential society etc. These attacks are perpetrated by non-Hindus primarily because of their animosity towards Hindus and their faith. In some cases, the trigger for the violence may be non-religious, however, there are two elements that make these hate crimes. First, the Hindus who come under attack are attacked violently while indulging in religious activity. Whether they are in a place of worship or not is immaterial to the crime. When individuals are attacked while indulging in religious practices, the attack in itself is a hindrance to their freedom to practice religion and therefore constitutes a hate crime. Secondly, religious supremacist doctrines and ideologies deem religious practices of Hindus to be offensive ab initio since they are considered “sinful” by these ideologies, worthy to be annihilated by force or coercion. Driven by these religious supremacist ideologies and doctrines, the attacks against Hindu devotees stem from intrinsic animosity towards Hinduism. In some cases, the trigger for the violence may be non-religious, however, it develops into a religiously motivated crime during the course of the violence. Since these attacks stem from animosity towards Hindus and Hinduism, they are considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. Monika Gupta, a Hindu woman, was harassed, threatened, and physically intimidated by a group of Muslims solely for attempting to visit a Hindu temple. The perpetrators' actions—abusing, chasing, and threatening her life—highlight religious intolerance and hostility toward her faith. Such behaviour violates her religious rights, making it a targeted attack against her as a Hindu devotee and this is why this case has been added to the tracker.