Hindu man harassed and robbed by Muslim men disguised as sadhus in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh

Case ID : 5c27872 | Location : Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Tue, 11 November, 2025

Case ID : 5c27872

Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh, India

11 November, 2025

Hindu man harassed and robbed by Muslim men disguised as sadhus in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh

Undecided cases

Case Summary

Hindu man Ravi Bhushan Kumar was harassed and robbed by Muslim men disguised as sadhus on a highway in Rae Bareli after they stopped his vehicle and deceived him. The incident occurred on November 12, 2025 when Ravi Bhushan Kumar, a Hindu resident, was travelling from Rae Bareli to Lucknow in his Swift car. Near Kundanganj Karanpur, seven to eight men dressed in saffron clothes intercepted his vehicle and engaged him in religious conversation. During the interaction, the men sprinkled white powder on his face, disoriented him, and removed a gold ring weighing approximately five grams from his right index finger. When the victim demanded the ring back, the men refused and escaped towards Rae Bareli in a white Ertiga car. Bothered by the incident, Ravi Bhushan Kumar reported the matter to the police. Based on his complaint, a case was registered at Bachhrawan police station, detailing how his religious trust was misused on the highway and how he was targeted while travelling alone. Acting on the complaint and on the directions of the SP, Rae Bareli, the Bachhrawan police initiated an investigation under the supervision of the Additional SP and the Circle Officer, Maharajganj. The police continued surveillance and intelligence gathering to trace those involved. On December 13, 2025, acting on information received from an informant, the police arrested three inter-state criminals from behind the Rajamau Road railway station. They were identified as Balwan Nath, son of Salim Nath; Vikram Nath alias Mona, son of Madan Nath; and Arman Nath alias Lalu Nath, son of Salim Nath, all residents of Lalkuan Okhla Mor in the Govindpuri police station area of Delhi. Police recovered ₹2,450 in cash and three Aadhaar cards, and the three men were sent to judicial custody. During interrogation, they admitted that they had disguised themselves as Naga sadhus, carried out the robbery on the Lucknow-Prayagraj highway, sold the stolen gold ring to an unknown person, and divided the money among themselves. Police said further investigation was underway to identify other members of the group and to trace similar incidents involving Hindu travellers on highways in the region.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case is being placed in the ‘undecided’ database because, although religious symbolism was used in the commission of the crime, the currently available evidence does not conclusively establish that the victim was targeted due to his Hindu identity. The accused men disguised themselves as saffron clad sadhus and initiated a religious conversation to gain the victim’s trust before robbing him. The misuse of Hindu religious appearance and symbolism is significant and troubling, particularly because it exploited faith based trust. However, the investigation so far indicates that the primary objective was robbery, not religious intimidation or forced conversion. There is no indication from the complaint or police findings that the perpetrators abused Hindu beliefs, attempted religious coercion, or selected the victim specifically because he was Hindu. Their admission suggests that the disguise was a tactical tool to facilitate theft on highways rather than an expression of hostility toward Hinduism. Because the motive appears financially driven and opportunistic, and because religion was used as a means of deception rather than as a target of attack, the incident does not currently meet the threshold for clear religiously motivated targeting. At the same time, the exploitation of Hindu religious identity to commit the crime prevents it from being treated as an entirely neutral robbery. For these reasons, the case is categorised as ‘undecided’ pending further evidence that could clarify whether religious animosity played any substantive role beyond instrumental disguise.