Three Hindu men stabbed by Muslim man in Mumbai
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India 
19 February, 2025
Case Summary
Three Hindu men — Akshay Wagh, Hemant Kankaria, and Rajesh Changlani — were stabbed by a 19-year-old Muslim man, Sheikh Ziya Hussain, a resident of Mumbra. The attack took place inside a local train, where Hussain used a pocket knife to stab the three Hindu passengers. According to police, Hussain had mistakenly boarded a fast train and could not disembark at Dombivli. Frustrated after missing his stop, he got into an argument with fellow passengers. The verbal conflict quickly escalated, and Hussain pulled out a pocket knife, stabbing three Hindu men. Other passengers overpowered Hussain and handed him over to the Railway Protection Force (RPF). He was subsequently arrested, and a case was registered against him.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been placed in the Undecided database, as the currently available evidence does not conclusively establish a communal or hate-driven motive, though the circumstances raise important concerns. The incident took place inside a local train when Sheikh Ziya Hussain, a 19-year-old Muslim resident of Mumbra, stabbed three Hindu passengers — Akshay Wagh, Hemant Kankaria, and Rajesh Changlani — with a pocket knife. The sequence of events began when Hussain mistakenly boarded a fast train and was unable to disembark at his intended stop. Frustrated upon missing Mumbra, he attempted to exit at Dombivli station but was obstructed by the heavy crowd. This led to a verbal altercation with fellow passengers, during which Hussain pulled out a pocket knife and stabbed three Hindu men. He was eventually overpowered by passengers and handed over to the Railway Protection Force, after which the police arrested him. While the immediate trigger appears to have been personal frustration and a quarrel, the fact that all three victims were Hindu cannot be overlooked. This raises the question of whether the selection of victims was purely situational or influenced by deeper hostility. Furthermore, the disproportionate nature of the response — resorting to lethal violence over a missed stop — fits within a broader and concerning pattern observed in other cases where Hindus have been attacked in communal contexts. However, despite these red flags, no communal slogans, religious slurs, or overt hate-driven statements have been reported so far. Without such direct evidence, and with the case still under police investigation, it would be premature to label the incident definitively as a hate crime. Therefore, the case is being documented in the Undecided category. Should proof of communal intent or hate-driven motivation come to light, it will be reclassified under the Hate Crime Database.
Victim Details
Total Victim
3
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 3
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 3
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 3
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
