Hindu deities insulted in derogatory social media post by Muslim man in Muzaffarnagar
Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India 
10 May, 2025
Case Summary
In Budhana, Muzaffarnagar, a Muslim man named Zeeshan Qureshi posted objectionable and anti-national content on social media. The accused had posted derogatory remarks against Hindu deities and the Indian Army from his personal account, which soon went viral online. He was arrested by the police. Zeeshan Qureshi is the son of former municipal councillor Naushad Qureshi and a resident of Rajan Wali Gali, Mohalla Nai Basti. He posted anti-national, offensive, and inflammatory content from his social media account. They contained derogatory remarks against Hindu deities and the Indian Army. After the posts surfaced, outrage spread across the town. Members of Hindu organisations met Circle Officer Gajendrapal Singh and expressed their protest. Given the seriousness of the matter, the CO immediately directed the Budhana police station to initiate an investigation, and the accused was arrested. After interrogation, he was presented before the court, which remanded him to judicial custody. The police appealed to the public to refrain from engaging in any social media activity that could potentially disturb communal harmony.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker un the primary category of - Hate speech against Hindus. The sub-category selected here is - Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith. Anti-Hindu slurs and the deliberate mocking of the Hindu faith owing to religious animosity involve the usage of derogatory terms, stereotypes, or offensive references to religious practices, symbols, or figures. One of the common anti-Hindu slurs used against Hindus is “cow-worshipper” and “cow piss drinker”. The intention of using this term is to demean and mock Hindus as a group and their religious beliefs since Hindus consider the cow holy. Additionally, some symbols and the slurs attached to them have a historical context that exacerbates the insult, hate, stereotyping, dehumanisation and oppression against Hindus. Cow worship has been used for centuries to denigrate Hindus, insult their faith and oppress Hindus specifically as a religious group. There has been overwhelming documentation about how cow slaughter has been used to persecute Hindus with cow meat being thrown in temples and places of worship. There has also been overwhelming documentation where cow meat (beef) has been force-fed to Hindus to either forcefully convert them to Islam or denigrate their faith. Apart from cow worship, the Swastika – which holds deep religious significance for the Hindus – has also been misinterpreted and distorted to use as a slur against Hindus. Similarly, the worship of the Shivling has been used by supremacist ideologies and religions to denigrate Hindus owing to religious animosity. Such slurs and denigration stem out of inherent animosity and hate towards Hindus and their faith, therefore, it is categorised as hate speech targeted at Hindus specifically owing to their religious identity. In this case, Zeeshan Qureshi posted derogatory, objectionable and inflammatory remarks targeting Hindu deities and the Indian Army. Deities are an integral part of the Hindu religion. Any attempt to mock them is born out of animosity towards the Hindu religion. The posts made were intended to provoke and offend Hindus. The content made by Qureshi was specifically designed to mock the Hindu faith. The deliberate nature of the insult points to an effort not just to provoke but to degrade the core beliefs of a religious community. Hence, this case is added to the tracker.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
