Hindu youths assaulted by Muslims for chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' and wearing saffron attire
Malad, Maharashtra, India 
30 March, 2025
Case Summary
In Malad East, Mumbai, seven Hindu youths returning from a religious event were assaulted by Muslim men. They were attacked for wearing saffron attire, carrying saffron flags and chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’. The incident took place around 5:30 PM, near Noorani Mosque, located on Ranisati Marg in Pathanwad. Rajkumar Choube, who runs a mobile repair business in Sakinaka, filed a complaint. According to the FIR, the assailants were dressed in white kurtas and net caps. They targeted Hindu men for wearing saffron attire. Choubey stated that he heard someone shout, “Beat all of them who are wearing saffron clothes,” moments before the attack happened. When Chaube tried to intervene, the attackers verbally abused and beat him. His friend, Sujit Sharma, immediately went to a police van parked nearby and informed them about the incident. Police rushed to the spot and managed to separate the attackers from Chaube and his friends. After that, the injured Hindu youth were rushed to hospital in a police van for treatment. According to eyewitnesses, the situation escalated when a few Hindu youths chanted “Jai Shri Ram”. Islamists claimed that the chants were raised during Muslim prayer time. One of the eyewitnesses quoted by The Tribune blamed Hindus for provoking Muslims, "Thousands were gathered for ‘Asr’ prayers. Suddenly, six people with saffron flags arrived and stood in front of the mosque, raising slogans." Konkan Prant co-organiser of Bajrang Dal, Gautam Ravriya, spoke about what transpired. "When the Gudi Padwa procession was passing through in the morning, some Hindu boys were walking with saffron flags. A few Muslim boys from Pathanwadi saw them and objected. Chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ while holding a saffron flag is not a crime anywhere in India—both the Supreme Court and High Court have stated this in clear judgments. This incident wasn’t spontaneous; it was part of a well-planned conspiracy. It did not just happen here – it happened in Tiwari Chawl, Chembur, Kurla, and other places across Mumbai. This is a systematic pattern of jihad – targeting Hindu festivals, mob lynching, and mentally breaking Hindus so they can’t celebrate their festivals freely. We demand strict action from the administration. All those seen in the video must be arrested immediately, and their names should be added to the FIR," the Hindu leader said. Notably, police downplayed the religious angle in the matter and termed the scuffle a "misunderstanding." The FIR in the matter was registered under Sections 118(1), 115(2), 352, 189, and 190 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Kurar Police detained Arshan Sheikh and booked four other Islamists, who were seen beating one of the victims with a wooden stick in a viral video.
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 first 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 second 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 third 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. This instance where Hindu youths were brutally assaulted by a group of Muslim men is a clear instance of a hate crime driven by religious hostility, targeting multiple aspects of Hindu identity. The victims were specifically assaulted for wearing saffron attire, carrying saffron flags, and chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’—all strong religious markers associated with Hinduism. The deliberate targeting of individuals based on their external symbols of faith indicates an attempt to intimidate and suppress public expressions of Hindu religious identity. The attack occurred as the Hindu youths were returning from a religious procession, further highlighting that they were not randomly assaulted but specifically targeted for participating in a Hindu festival. The Muslim perpetrators gathered near the Mosque and stopped the victims before launching their attack. This suggests that the violence was not spontaneous but rooted in religious animosity. The attackers’ explicit instructions—“Beat all of them who are wearing saffron clothes”—reinforce the fact that the assault was premeditated and motivated by a hatred for Hindus and their faith. The victims were not only attacked physically but also verbally abused, adding to the psychological intimidation aimed at discouraging Hindus from publicly expressing their faith. This case qualifies for inclusion in the Hinduphobia tracker as it encompasses multiple dimensions of targeted violence—an attack on devotees returning from a religious event, an assault on a procession linked to Hindu festivities, and a clear attack on individuals for their Hindu identity. The incident reflects a broader pattern where Hindus are subjected to aggression simply for their religious expressions, necessitating documentation under hate crimes driven by religious bigotry.
Case Status
Case sub-judice
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
