Ambulance with Hindu family and ailing children targeted by Muslim mob during Muharram procession in Odisha

Case ID : 9957e0b | Location : Remuna, Odisha, India | Date of Incident : Sat, 5 July, 2025

Case ID : 9957e0b

Remuna, Odisha, India

5 July, 2025

Ambulance with Hindu family and ailing children targeted by Muslim mob during Muharram procession in Odisha

Attack not resulting in death

Communal clash/attack

Case Summary

In Remuna, in the Balasore district of Odisha, a Hindu family travelling in an ambulance were attacked by a mob of Muslims who were participants in a Muharram procession. The mob also physically assaulted the ambulance’s helpers and the driver. According to news reports, the incident took place at around 10:30 pm near Hatiagand Square in Remuna Bazaar. The ambulance, bearing registration number OD02BJ-5937, was carrying Mr Rashmiranjan Sahu, his wife Urmila, and their two children, three-and-a-half-year-old son Smrutiranjan and two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Labanya. Both children were suffering from a high fever. The family was headed towards the Fakir Mohan Medical College and Hospital for emergency treatment. The vehicle was operated by driver Gajendra Das, with helper Sureshwar Mahalik and attendant Satyaban Das on board. While passing through the Muharram procession route, the ambulance was stopped by a group of 10–15 Muslims participating in the procession. The ambulance’s siren was on, and the Muslim crowd objected and demanded it be switched off. Shortly afterwards, they dragged the Hindu helper from the vehicle, beat him, tore his shirt, and struck the ambulance with sticks, shattering its rear window. The broken glass struck the children and their parents. This caused them injuries, and they were bleeding. The attack was extremely violent. Fearing for their safety, the driver turned off the siren and remained stuck for over half an hour before finally managing to proceed. Despite the presence of police at the scene, no immediate assistance was provided, and those inside the ambulance were threatened by the mob and told to remain silent. Sahu stated that his son had a 104-degree fever, and in desperation, he and his wife tried to shield their children with their own bodies while praying for protection. Several Muslim bystanders, armed with sticks, continued to assault the vehicle from behind. Following the attack, the ambulance staff lodged a written complaint at the Remuna police station. The police registered a case but made no arrests. Media reports indicated that, according to official guidelines, the Muharram procession should have ended by 10 pm, but it continued past midnight.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Attack not resulting in death. Within this, the subcategory selected 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. In this case, the violent attack on the Hindu family in Remuna, Odisha, is a clear demonstration of crime motivated by religious hostility and Islamic supremacy. While it is important to acknowledge that even though the immediate trigger for the confrontation was the sound of an ambulance siren during a Muharram procession, the response from the Muslim mob was grossly disproportionate and clearly showcased communal undertones behind the attack. Instead of resolving a minor dispute or allowing the ambulance carrying sick children to pass, the Muslim mob chose to unleash violence, targeting the Hindu family and the Hindu ambulance staff and driver with sticks. The Muslim mob also resorted to physically assaulting the ambulance staff and smashing the windows of the vehicle, resulting in injuries to the Hindu family inside. Such acts of violence against Hindus are not isolated or spontaneous incidents; rather, they are driven by deep-seated religious animosity towards the Hindu community and Islamic supremacist ideology, which views non-Muslims as inherently inferior and reacts with hostility when they do not submit or comply with its demands. In supremacist interpretations of Islam, religious dominance is enforced not just through symbolism but by controlling public spaces, suppressing non-Muslim visibility, and punishing perceived disrespect, even when unintentional or unrelated. In this case, an ambulance merely performing its duty was treated as a provocation, triggering violent retaliation. The fact that the ambulance staff and the family inside were visibly Hindu only intensified the mob’s aggression, revealing the underlying religious hostility driving the attack. Another point to consider is that the attack took place during Muharram. While it is observed by many Muslims as a solemn period of mourning, it has increasingly been misused by Muslim extremists as a cover to assert Islamic dominance and carry out a targeted religious attack against Hindus and their religious symbols. In various regions in the country, Muharram processions have witnessed incidents of stone pelting on temples, desecration of Hindu idols, forced extortion from Hindu households, and even violent physical assaults, all under the guise of religious observance. The Hinduphobia Tracker has documented multiple such incidents across several states this year alone, where the Islamic celebration of Muharram was exploited as a cover to launch coordinated attacks against Hindus, their places of worship, and their religious identity. Therefore, the timing of the crime further demonstrates that the incident was not spontaneous; rather, it was a targeted attack due to religious hostility towards the faith and identity of the victims, thereby making it an instance of religiously motivated crime, worthy of being documented in the Hinduphobia Tracker. Furthermore, the inaction of the police in this case is deeply concerning. Despite being present at the scene, the officers chose not to intervene or protect the Hindu victims from the violent Muslim mob. This deliberate failure to act highlights a troubling pattern of indifference when Hindus are targeted, revealing a systemic bias and prejudice against Hindu victims. Such inaction by the police not only undermines the Hindu victims’ faith in justice but also emboldens the Muslim perpetrators, sending a dangerous message that violence against Hindus would be tolerated or overlooked.