Tribal Hindu priest assaulted, women harassed and beaten, religious procession attacked by Muslim men following dispute over broken Eid decoration
Ranchi, Jharkhand, India 
31 March, 2025
Case Summary
In the Pithoria police station area of Ranchi, Jharkhand, hundreds of tribals took to the streets, protesting against the brutal attack on their Sarhul festival procession. Protesters testified that the Sarhul procession was deliberately targeted, with the Pahan (tribal priest) and other participants physically assaulted. Women were also harassed and beaten during the attack. The protestors confirmed that the attack was orchestrated after a minor incident involving the breaking of an Eid decoration. Despite there being only one house belonging to the Muslim side in the area, a large Muslim crowd gathered to instigate violence. Armed with sharp weapons, they attacked the Sarhul procession, injuring four individuals, including the Pahan. According to reports, the attack stemmed from a dispute in Hethbalu village, where Muslims had placed electric carts on both sides of the road for their festival of Eid. As the Sarhul procession passed through the area, some strings of the bright foil fringe put up during Eid broke, leading to a heated altercation that soon escalated into a violent ambush, including stone-pelting and armed assault. Several tribal devotees, including Ravi Pahan, Nagdev Pahan, Painbhora Munda, and Sandeep Munda, sustained injuries in the attack. The FIR named Adam Ansari, Arif Ansari, Mintu Ansari, and Juaifa Ansari, along with several unidentified individuals, as the perpetrators. The complaint stated that the assailants, who had been lying in wait, launched a premeditated attack on the Sarhul procession with sharp weapons as it reached Hargarhi in Hethbalu village. A person said that due to a few mischievous elements, the tradition of Phulkhosi, which is held the next day of Sarhul, was also disturbed. While police arrested two accused, protesters, led by Central Sarna Committee President Ajay Tirkey and other tribal leaders, demanded the immediate arrest of all individuals involved. Meanwhile, Sarhul rallies were taken out by several Sarhul committees from the tribal community from different areas in the city. This festival is the most historic festival celebrated in the state of Jharkhand. In this festival, nature is worshipped and prayers are offered. This festival is also considered the New Year of the tribal communities.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary 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 chosen is- Communal clash/attack. Communal clash is a form of collective violence that involves clashes between groups belonging to different religious identities. For a communal clash between Hindus and non-Hindus to qualify as a religiously motivated hate crime, the trigger of the violence itself would have to be anti-Hindu in essence. For example, if there is a Hindu religious procession that comes under attack from a non-Hindu mob and after the initial attack, Hindus retaliate in self-defence, leading to a communal clash between the two religious communities. While at a later stage, both communities are involved in the clash/violence, the initial trigger of the violence was by the non-Hindu mob against the Hindus and therefore, it could safely be termed as an anti-Hindu violence. Further, the trigger would also have to be religiously motivated. In the cited example, the attack by the non-Hindu mob was against religious processions and therefore, can be concluded to be religiously motivated. In some cases, the trigger may be non-religious, however, it develops into religious violence against Hindus at a later stage. In such cases too, the foundational animosity towards Hindus becomes the motivating factor of the crime and therefore, it would be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime against Hindus under this category. The third sub-category selected here 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 attack on the Sarhul procession in Ranchi’s Pithoria area is a clear case of targeted violence against a Hindu religious gathering. Sarhul is a deeply significant festival for the indigenous Hindu-tribal community, and disrupting its procession with a violent ambush demonstrates an attempt to intimidate and suppress religious expression. The assault on the Pahan (tribal priest) and other participants, including reports of women being harassed and beaten, further indicates that this was not a random altercation but a deliberate act of aggression. The violence erupted following a minor incident involving festival decorations, but the manner in which the attack unfolded suggests premeditation. The assailants reportedly waited for the procession to pass before launching an assault with sharp weapons, injuring several people. The fact that a religious event was specifically targeted highlights a pattern of hostility towards Hindu practices. Such incidents contribute to an atmosphere of fear and insecurity, where Hindu religious processions become vulnerable to attacks under the slightest pretext. Given the context and the deliberate targeting of a religious procession, this attack is a clear example of communal violence rooted in religious intolerance. Consequently, this incident has been added to the tracker.
Case Status
Case sub-judice
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
