Man brutally attacked by armed Muslim men in a train during Muharram festival
Kolkata, West Bengal, India 
5 July, 2025
Case Summary
In Sealdah, a man was brutally injured by a group of Muslim youths armed with swords on the day of the Muharram festival. News sources state that the Muslim group boarded a local train at Kolkata’s Sealdah railway station and began brandishing swords, resulting in a man being severely injured. Media coverage of the incident included visuals showing the victim bleeding heavily, with a large pool of blood visible on the floor of Platform No. 3 at Sealdah station. Parijat Mitra, East Bengal Football Club’s media manager, described the incident in a Facebook post. He recounted how a train passenger was struck on the head by Muslim men wielding swords, causing the victim to bleed profusely. In the aftermath, chaos and panic spread throughout the railway station. Several passengers and commuters raised complaints with the Government Railway Police (GRP), who responded only after repeated appeals for help. Security personnel recovered some swords from the train compartments and signalled the train to depart, despite passengers pointing out that more weapons remained inside the compartment. The injured man was subsequently taken to the hospital for treatment. One regular commuter voiced deep concern about such violence occurring at a major railway station in broad daylight. He stated, “If swords today, what next? Guns?”
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been recorded in the ‘Undecided’ category of the Hinduphobia Tracker due to the current lack of verified information regarding the identity of the victim and the precise motivation behind the attack. While media reports and eyewitness accounts confirm that a man was severely injured by a group of sword-wielding Muslim youths aboard a local train at Sealdah railway station during the Muharram procession, it remains unclear whether the victim was targeted specifically because of his religious identity. However, this incident did not occur in isolation. There exists a troubling pattern of violence coinciding with Islamic religious processions—particularly during Muharram—where Hindu individuals and spaces are frequently subjected to mob aggression, intimidation, and in some cases, deliberate attacks. This recurring pattern across multiple states raises legitimate concerns about the possible religious undertones of such acts. In this specific case, the visibly orchestrated manner in which swords were brandished and used to inflict grievous harm inside a public train, on a festival day, aligns with past incidents where similar acts were driven by religious hostility. The disproportionate and public nature of the violence—occurring in broad daylight, in a crowded transport hub—also strengthens the suspicion that this was not a random act of aggression, but potentially an expression of communal assertion or ideological hostility. The fact that the attackers were openly armed and displayed no fear of law enforcement further points to a sense of impunity often seen in religiously motivated acts of mob violence. Nevertheless, in the absence of confirmed details regarding the victim’s religious identity and without direct evidence establishing a communal motive, it would be premature to definitively categorise this as a religious hate crime. Hence, the case has been placed in the ‘Undecided’ category. Should further information emerge—particularly confirming that the victim was Hindu and targeted on religious grounds—the case will be reclassified accordingly.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 1
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 1
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 1
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
