Hindu youths attacked with blades by Muslim men during Shiv Barat procession in Bankhedi, Madhya Pradesh

Case ID : 90a08fa | Location : Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Tue, 25 February, 2025

Case ID : 90a08fa

Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh, India

25 February, 2025

Hindu youths attacked with blades by Muslim men during Shiv Barat procession in Bankhedi, Madhya Pradesh

Attack not resulting in death

Attack on religious procession

Attack against Hindu devotees

Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

Three Hindu youths were attacked with blades during a Shiv Barat procession in Bankhed. The accused, identified as Yasin Khan, Razi Khan, and Arman Khan, all residents of the area, attacked the youths after a heated exchange near Jhanda Chowk. The victims, identified as Ashok Mehra, Sumit Yadav, and Mohit, sustained injuries in the assault. According to Mehra’s statement to the police, Yasin Khan demanded ₹2,000 from him during the procession and, when refused, abused him and attacked him with a blade. When Yadav and Mohit intervened, Razi Khan and Arman Khan also assaulted them with blades. While two of the attackers fled the scene, locals managed to catch Yasin Khan and hand him over to the police. Later that night, members of Hindu organisations staged a protest outside the police station, demanding strict action. Following this, the police arrested the two absconding accused. A case under non-bailable sections was registered against all three attackers. Bankhedi police confirmed the arrests and said investigations are ongoing. Former BJP Mandal President Ramesh Patel condemned the incident, stating, “We oppose such an act in Lord Shiva’s procession. We have called upon business brothers to cooperate in the bandh by keeping their shops closed.”

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of - Attack not resulting in death. Within it, the sub-category selected is - Attack on religious procession. The outward celebration and display of religious symbols in an intrinsic part of Hinduism. Religious processions on various festivals are age-old traditions and a way to manifest faith and form a part of the religious practices of Hindus. On several occasions, such religious processions come under attack by non-Hindu mobs, in a manifestation of their animosity towards Hinduism and their practices. The reasons cited for such violent attacks are many and range from crossing a non-Hindu resident-dominated area to playing loud music, crossing from an area where there is a religious structure of another faith etc. The violent attacks are triggered by the outward display of religiosity by Hindus. The attacks are mainly a manifestation of religious supremacist doctrine which believes that idolatry, essentially the Hindu faith, is one that deserves to be annihilated since the very tenets of Hinduism, its practices and traditions are considered a sin in those doctrines. Since these attacks emanate from intrinsic and doctrinal animosity towards Hindus and Hinduism, it is considered a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. The other 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. The other sub-category 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. The Bankhedi incident is a textbook example of a hate crime where a Hindu religious procession was deliberately attacked. The Shiv Barat was not an ordinary gathering but a religious procession intrinsic to the Hindu faith and practice. The Muslim attackers targeted the procession at a symbolic location, Jhanda Chowk, and used physical violence against participants, including with blades. The attack was not incidental—it was directed at the outward expression of Hindu religiosity in the form of a procession. Hindu processions often come under attack in precisely this manner, reflecting animosity towards public displays of Hindu faith and traditions. Such violence is rooted in religious supremacist ideologies that treat Hindu practices, such as idol worship and religious celebrations, as offensive and deserving of disruption or annihilation. Hence, this case qualifies as a hate crime. The Hindu youths who were injured in this incident were not random individuals—they were devotees participating in the Shiv Barat. This situates the attack in the context of targeting Hindus while they were actively engaged in a religious activity. The fact that the attackers resorted to violence during the procession shows an intention to obstruct Hindus from practising and celebrating their religion freely. Even though the attackers initially tried to extort money, the escalation of violence took place in the setting of a Hindu procession, which made the Hindu devotees identifiable targets. The attack thus disrupted their ability to participate safely in a religious activity, turning it into a hate crime. The victims—Ashok Mehra, Sumit Yadav, and Mohit—were identified as Hindus simply by their participation in a Lord Shiva procession. Their Hindu identity was sufficient for them to be singled out and violently attacked. They were not targeted for personal disputes or prior enmities; the violence arose because they were Hindus involved in a Hindu religious event. This incident, thus, represents a hate crime that stems directly from animosity towards the Hindu identity of the victims.