Hindu puja shop vandalised, Hindu youths assaulted during Muharram procession in Samastipur

Case ID : 9957d8e | Location : Samastipur, Bihar, India | Date of Incident : Sat, 5 July, 2025

Case ID : 9957d8e

Samastipur, Bihar, India

5 July, 2025

Hindu puja shop vandalised, Hindu youths assaulted during Muharram procession in Samastipur

Attack on Hindu religious representations

Desecration of Hindu religious symbol

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

In Samastipur, Bihar, a Hindu shop selling puja materials was vandalised, and two Hindu youths present in the shop were assaulted during a Muharram procession by a group of Muslims. According to news reports, the incident occurred as a Muharram procession was passing through Maria Bazaar. A group of five to seven Muslims raised the shutter of the shop, vandalised the premises, and threw the puja materials onto the road. Two Hindu youths who were inside the shop at the time were also physically attacked by the group. A police officer present at the scene stated that the incident was the act of a few anti-social elements who attacked the shop due to an old personal grudge. He further claimed that the Muharram procession participants were not responsible, and that the matter was under investigation.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Attack on Hindu religious representations. Within this, the subcategory selected is- Desecration of Hindu religious symbols. Icons and symbols or a religious representation of a spiritual ideal are widely revered in Hinduism. Iconography is of vital significance in the Hindu milieu. It helps connect people’s spiritual beliefs with the real world. Iconography within the Hindu faith takes several shapes and forms. Murtis are of most significance to Hindus, to which daily rituals, prayers and offerings are done. Besides the murtis, there are several other symbols which have deep significance in the Hindu faith – the Om and Swastika for example. Since these Hindu religious symbols hold paramount importance in Hinduism, any desecration of symbols, icons, murtis, religious representations and manifestations, is driven by animosity towards the faith itself which manifests itself through these murtis, icons and symbols. Therefore, any desecration of these Hindu religious symbols and representations is considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. The other primary category selected is - Attack not resulting in death. The 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 incident in Samastipur was not simply a random act of violence; it was a targeted attack against Hindus and their faith. The attack took place during Muharram, a period when communal tensions often run high, leaving the Hindu community particularly vulnerable. For the Hindu shopowner, their small shop selling puja materials was far more than just a source of livelihood; it was a place of deep religious significance, filled with items used in daily worship. The group of miscreants forced open the shutter, ransacked the shop, and threw sacred puja materials onto the street. This was not merely an attack on a Hindu individual's property; rather, it was a direct assault on his faith and its religious symbols. Puja materials are held sacred by the Hindu community, and any deliberate attempt to desecrate or violate them stems from religious animosity towards Hindus and their beliefs. Such desecration was a calculated attempt to insult and intimidate the Hindu community, sending a chilling message that symbols and materials related to the Hindu faith could be defiled with impunity. The violence did not end there. The physical assault on the two Hindu youths present in the shop, amidst these acts of desecration and heightened religious tension, further demonstrated that the attack was motivated by religious hostility. Such incidents are not isolated; they are the result of deep-rooted prejudice and animosity against Hindus, making this a clear case of a religiously motivated crime. In this instance, the police claimed that the attack was due to an old personal feud and insisted that attendees of the Muharram procession were not involved, denying any communal angle. However, the reality remains that a Hindu shop selling puja materials was attacked, and the shopkeeper was beaten. This act itself points to religious hostility towards the Hindu shopowner and the symbols of their faith. It is not uncommon for the police, in cases where the motive is evident but not explicitly acknowledged, to downplay or deny the communal nature of such crimes. Often, this is done to avoid scrutiny of their jurisdiction or to prevent further escalation in the area. This tendency to emphasise the “no communal angle” narrative is particularly pronounced when the victim is Hindu. However, a police statement alone cannot be the sole determinant of whether a crime has a communal aspect. To truly understand the nature of such incidents, we must pay attention to the ground realities. For example, in the case of Rinku Sharma, a Bajrang Dal activist who was brutally stabbed in front of his family in Delhi’s Mangolpuri area in 2021, both the police and sections of the media denied any communal angle. Yet, those on the ground, including Rinku’s family, made it clear that religious tensions were at the heart of the attack. Their testimonies highlighted the palpable sense of fear and hostility faced by Hindus in the area. Similarly, in cases where the police deny communal motives, the ground realities and voices of the victims often reveal the truth. This tracker aims to document such cases, recognising the patterns of religious bias that are otherwise ignored or downplayed. Applying the same logic to the Samastipur incident, the targeted attack on a Hindu shop, the desecration of puja materials, and the assault on the two Hindu youths all demonstrate that the act was motivated by religious hostility towards Hindus and the Hindu faith and its symbols. The systematic denial or whitewashing of these crimes by the police authorities only adds to the injustice. The nature and context of the act make it evident that it was driven by religious hostility towards Hindus and their faith. Therefore, it is being categorised under the hate crime database.