Hindu devotees targeted, their sacred pilgrimage desecrated by police officer in Kerala
Pathanamthitta, Kerala, India 
18 November, 2025
Case Summary
In the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple located in the Pathanamthitta district of Kerala, Hindu devotees were targeted by a police security officer. The devotees were subjected to abuse, and the accused disrespected and defiled their sacred pilgrimage of visiting Sabarimala. Before visiting the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple, Hindu devotees observe the Sabarimala Vratham. It is a sacred 41-day vow in Hinduism that prepares devotees through strict celibacy, truthfulness, non-violence, purity, and austerity. It aims to cleanse body and mind, fostering self-discipline and spiritual focus to attain unity with the divine. During this period, devotees wear black clothes symbolising renunciation and detachment from worldly desires. The black attire, along with abstaining from indulgences, daily bathing, chanting of sacred hymns, and consuming sattvic (Pure vegetarian) food, marks a sacred, disciplined phase essential for a devoted pilgrimage to Lord Ayyappa’s temple. This Vratham embodies deep devotion and spiritual readiness. According to reports, in this case, the devotees were Telugu Hindus and had asked one of the police officers on security duty in the temple for directions to perform Darshan. In response, the police officer abused the devotees and unzipped his trousers, making vulgar gestures towards them in the temple. The devotees recorded a video describing the entire incident and uploaded it on social media. This video went viral, causing outrage amongst the Hindu community. The devotees stated that they had protested against the officer's behaviour, but some officials had sent the policeman away to protect him. In addition to the misconduct of the security personnel, Ayyappa devotees expressed strong dissatisfaction regarding the lack of basic facilities provided at the temple. They stated that not even the minimum arrangements were in place at Sabarimala, which hosts hundreds and thousands of devotees. The devotees insisted that the Government of Kerala and the Travancore Devasthanam Board must take immediate and decisive action against those responsible and significantly improve the facilities for all pilgrims to ensure a dignified and smooth pilgrimage experience.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Attack not resulting in death. The subcategory 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. Another primary category selected in this case is- Attack on Hindu religious representations. The subcategory selected in this case is- Defiling religious customs. Sanatan Dharma is not a religion of one book, which is to say that while it has religious scriptures that form the central tenets of the faith, there are several traditions followed through thousands of years, mostly passed from generation to generation orally. There are several such customs and traditions that are followed by various Hindus and Hindu sects. Defiling of these traditions and customs is a breach of an individual or group’s religious practices. Such practices can range from dietary restrictions like not eating non-vegetarian food for a certain period of the year, not eating non-vegetarian food at all, not eating beef since the cow is considered holy in Hinduism, the sanctity of religious customs followed in the house (like many ISCKON devotees), etc. Any malicious action leading to the breach of such traditions or defilement of these traditions owing to animosity towards the faith or for the sake of activism stems not only from the lack of faith in the religion itself but also from disregard for the faith of the devotees who follow the customs/traditions and implicit bias against the faith, the tradition itself. Since these specific traditions are central to the faith of the devotees of that specific sect of Hindus, any non-compliance with these traditional rules would be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. The other subcategory selected is- Breaking rules of place of worship. Sanatan Dharma is not a religion of one book, which is to say that while it has religious scriptures that form the central tenets of the faith, there are several traditions followed through thousands of years, mostly passed from generation to generation orally. One of these oral traditions or written traditions is the rules of specific temples. Certain temples have rules which are traditional rules, dependent on the worship of the presiding deities. These rules and traditions have been followed for thousands of years whether they find scriptural mention or not. Such traditions are based on the nature and rules of worship of the presiding deity of that temple. Any non-compliance of these traditions owing to animosity towards the faith or for the sake of activism stems not only from the lack of faith in the presiding deity but also disregard for the faith of the devotees of that deity/temple and implicit bias against the faith, the tradition and the deity itself. Since these specific traditions are central to the faith of the devotees of that specific temple and presiding deity, any non-compliance with these traditional rules would be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. This case constitutes a stark and undeniable instance of an anti-Hindu hate crime. The targeting of Hindu devotees at the sacred Sabarimala temple by a police officer, involving verbal abuse, vulgar gestures, and utter disrespect towards their revered pilgrimage, directly assaulted their religious identity and practices. This attack on the devotees was rooted in profound religious hostility, undermining the religious significance of the Sabarimala Vratham—a sacred 41-day vow of purity and devotion. The officer’s conduct desecrated this solemn ritual, flouting the sanctity of Hindu faith and customs. Such offensive behaviour towards Hindu devotees constitutes an explicit act of religious hatred based purely on their Hindu identity. The police officer’s actions went beyond mere misconduct, amounting to a blatant defilement of the sacred Vratham observed by the devotees, violating core religious and cultural norms of the pilgrimage. His indecent behaviour, including unzipping his trousers, hurling abuses and making obscene gestures, gravely diminished the reverence traditionally afforded to Sabarimala and its rituals. Such conduct within the context of a devout setting was a direct attack on the faith’s sacred symbols and practices, striking at the religious sentiments of Hindu pilgrims. It starkly contravened the respect owed to Hindu religious traditions and rituals. Moreover, this egregious incident occurred within the confines of the Sabarimala temple—an acknowledged place of worship where strict rules of decorum, sanctity, and reverence must be upheld. Hindu temples, far from being mere physical structures, are institutional sacred spaces regarded as the divine abodes of deities. The police officer’s vulgar actions and disrespect inside the temple represented a flagrant violation of these rules. His actions profoundly undermined the temple’s sanctity, showing total disregard for the religious significance of the site and the sentiments of its devotees. This behaviour is rooted in deep-seated hostility and a deliberate undermining of the Hindu faith, its customs, and its followers, amounting to a religiously motivated offence. Since this incident unequivocally meets multiple criteria defining a hate crime—including targeting Hindu devotees, committing vulgar acts within a sacred space, and exhibiting clear religious animus—it is categorised as a definitive case of anti-Hindu hate crime. Consequently, this case has been recorded in the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records the dates of incidents based on when the crime occurs rather than when it is reported by the media. However, in this particular case, media reports have not specified the exact date of the crime, nor has social media. Therefore, for the purpose of documenting this crime in the Tracker, the date when the incident went viral on social media, namely 19th November 2025, has been selected as the indicative date of the incident. This selection is solely for documentation purposes and does not imply the precise date of occurrence.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
State and Establishment
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
