Hindu religious observance desecrated, meat strewn along the path of Hanuman Jayanti procession, protestors attacked with stones
Pawai, Madhya Pradesh, India 
11 April, 2025
Case Summary
On the night of Hanuman Jayanti, a procession organised by the Hindu organisations, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, was disrupted when pieces of meat were found scattered along the route. The procession, which began from the Jagdish Swami temple and reached Farukhivabad locality, was moving ahead with idols of Shri Ram and Hanuman. Upon seeing the pieces of meat on the road, the devotees halted the procession, turned off the DJ, and began raising slogans in protest. This incident caused immediate unrest in the area. Police officials, along with the tehsildar and station in-charge, arrived promptly to manage the situation. Despite efforts to pacify the devotees, the protestors insisted on the presence of the Superintendent of Police before allowing the procession to resume. Sanitation workers and a water tanker were deployed by the municipal council to clean the route, removing the meat pieces. The situation had grown tense, but swift administrative response helped bring matters under control. The authorities began an inquiry into the matter. As word of the incident spread, a large crowd gathered in the Farukhibad locality, where the incident had occurred. Tensions escalated further as some individuals began throwing stones at homes and shops. Residents, alarmed by the violence, switched off their lights and retreated to their rooftops, plunging the area into darkness. Despite continued protests and demands for senior officials to visit the site, police forces remained deployed to maintain order. After prolonged dialogue and assurance of action, the procession was resumed around 11 PM. Following their investigation, the police dismissed any communal motive and stated that there was no evidence of foul play. According to them, the meat found on the road was the result of a dog vomiting waste in the area. Inspector Trivendra Trivedi, in charge of the Pawai police station, reported that CCTV footage from the vicinity showed no suspicious activity or individuals near the scene. The footage indicated that around 8:30 PM—before the religious procession passed through—two children were playing nearby, a few motorcyclists rode past, and the road was visibly clean. Shortly afterwards, a dog appeared and vomited something near the roadside, after which the meat was noticed. The police urged the public not to fall prey to rumours or divisive elements attempting to disturb the peace. They appealed for the upcoming festivals to be celebrated in a calm and respectful manner to maintain harmony in the area.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category- Attack not resulting in death. The sub-category relevant in this case 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 other sub-category 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. The third 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. The fourth sub-category selected here is- Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim. In several cases, Hindus are attacked for opposing religiously motivated crimes being committed against a fellow Hindu or simply for voicing an opinion opposing radical elements, who either have in the past or continue to persecute Hindus. In such cases, the initial attack against the victim, against which the Hindu was trying to defend the victim, would also need to be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the initial crime itself was religiously motivated and the subsequent crime of attempting to save the victim or speaking against the radical elements ends up inviting a violent attack, it would also be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. The second primary category under which this case has been placed is- Attack on Hindu religious representations, and within this, the sub-category selected 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 incident during the Hanuman Jayanti procession is a clear example of a targeted hate crime against the Hindu community. The deliberate act of scattering pieces of meat along the route of a religious procession was a provocative and calculated move designed to insult and hurt Hindu sentiments. Hanuman Jayanti is a significant festival for Hindus, and such defilement of the procession’s path is not just a random disruption—it is a direct attempt to desecrate and mock the faith of those participating. This act disrupted a peaceful religious celebration, creating an atmosphere of tension and unrest. The procession, which included idols of Shri Ram and Hanuman, was halted out of respect for the sanctity of the occasion. The participants, devout Hindus engaged in a spiritual observance, were subjected to psychological harm and humiliation. What followed only deepened the communal hostility: as the devotees protested the desecration, violence erupted in the form of stone-pelting, forcing residents into fear and hiding. The fact that homes and shops were targeted after the devotees voiced their protest shows that the violence was not just about the act itself, but also aimed at silencing and punishing those who stood up against the insult to their religion. This wasn’t merely a case of public disorder. It was a direct attack on a religious group’s right to observe and celebrate their faith peacefully. The use of an offensive act timed to coincide with a major religious event, followed by retaliation against those who resisted the provocation, reveals deep-seated animosity and intent to terrorise a specific religious community. Such incidents go beyond physical disruption—they strike at the very core of religious freedom and dignity, and reflect an organised pattern of hostility against Hindus. It is important to note here that the police dismissed any communal motive and stated that there was no evidence of foul play. The police, in many such cases, where the motive behind the crime is obvious but not explicitly mentioned, deny that the crime committed was in any way motivated by a religious bias or say that there was ‘no communal angle’ to the crime. Several factors are generally at play here. Many a time the police downplay incidents of low-level communal crime because it is their jurisdiction that comes under question. The police also often say that there was ‘no communal angle’ to a crime when there was one because they wish to ensure that owing to the crime already committed, there is no further flare up in the area. Likewise, the Left media and the leftist elite are also inclined to emphasise this "no communal angle" trope, especially wherever the victim of the crime is a Hindu. However, only a police statement or a media report, for instance, cannot be enough to determine whether there is a communal angle present in the crime that has been committed. In fact, to determine whether the crime is communal in nature or not, we need to give emphasis to the ground realities. For example in the case of Rinku Sharma, the Bajrang Dal activist who was mercilessly stabbed in his house in front of his family members in Delhi’s Mangolpuri area in the year 2021, the leftist media and the leftist ecosystem had tried to peddle that there was no communal angle to the crime. Even the police denied that the crime was communal in nature. However, Opindia spoke to several people who are on the ground with the family of Rinku Sharma, and we were told that the communal tension in the area is palpable. The family of Rinku Sharma has said that the Muslims of the area held a grudge against Rinku ever since he celebrated the Ram Mandir verdict Like the case of Rinku Sharma, those cases where even if the police have denied a communal angle or the leftist media have gone on an overdrive to peddle the ‘no communal angle’ trope, the ground reality, like the victim’s family or relative's testimonies, make it clear that there was an obvious religious bias that led to the crime, will be documented in this tracker. Going by the same logic, since the participants testified that the desecration of the religious procession was deliberate and not accidental, this case has also been included in the hate tracker.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Unknown
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
