Hindu procession attacked and pelted with stones in communally sensitive area of Haridwar, Uttarakhand
Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India 
6 December, 2025
Case Summary
On 7th December 2025, a procession taken out by a Hindu organisation was attacked in Jwalapur, Haridwar, a locality with a sizable Muslim population, creating communal tension in the area. An unidentified group threw stones at a Bajrang Dal procession that was celebrating Shaurya Diwas. The procession had started from three locations—Jwalapur, Haridwar city, and Kankhal—and was heading toward Ram Chowk when the attack occurred near Durga Chowk and Saini Ashram. This caused immediate panic among the participants. While no injuries were reported, the situation quickly escalated. Bajrang Dal members, angered by the attack, arrived with bulldozers and warned they would take further action unless the authorities responded promptly. Following the incident, Bajrang Dal workers gathered at Arya Nagar Chowk for a protest. Anuj Walia, the Provincial President of Bajrang Dal, criticised the local administration for failing to ensure the safety of religious processions, accusing them of neglecting their duty to maintain law and order. He also demanded that arrests be made swiftly and warned that bulldozers would return to the streets if this did not happen. Despite the standoff, the protesters agreed to move their machinery after the police asked them to comply, although they insisted that the authorities use video footage to identify the attackers and take action against them. Haridwar City SP, Abhay Pratap Singh, confirmed the stone-pelting incident and stated that an FIR had been filed against unknown individuals. He mentioned that police were relying on CCTV footage and other video evidence to identify the culprits. Additional police forces were deployed in sensitive areas, particularly Jwalapur market, to prevent any further escalation. By the evening, the situation had been brought under control, with authorities urging the public to remain calm and avoid spreading rumours. No further incidents were reported by the end of Sunday. The Shaurya Yatra, organised by Bajrang Dal to mark Shaurya Diwas, aimed to bring together participants from various parts of Haridwar but became volatile when it reached Ram Chowk, a communally sensitive area. The incident raised concerns about the security of Hindu processions in the region. Walia reiterated the need for stronger measures to prevent such attacks in the future.
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: Attacked for supporting/being part of perceived Hindu party/org or working for Hindu community. In several cases, Hindus are attacked specifically or tangentially for their association with parties or organisations perceived to be pro-Hindu and/or for working in favour of the Hindu community. One of the classic cases was the attack against a Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha (BJYM) worker Praveen Nettaru. Nettaru was attacked and hacked to death for his association with Hindu organizations and his work for the Hindu community. He was murdered by PFI, a terror organization which aimed to commit a genocide of Hindus, target Hindu leaders specifically and turn India into an Islamic Nation. In such cases, it is possible that the immediate trigger for the violence is non-religious – either according to the perpetrator or the police. However, there are surrounding circumstances from which the conclusion can be reached that the victim was attacked for his association with a Hindu organization. In a similar case, Rinku Sharma was attacked by radicals. He was a member of Bajrang Dal and regularly worked for the Hindu community. While the police cited a different non-religious trigger for the attack, it is true that he was associated to a Hindu organization and the family of Rinku Sharma specifically attributed his gruesome murder to him working for Bajrang Dal and raising Jai Shree Ram slogans. Such cases are intrinsically driven by religious hate and would therefore be documented as a hate crime under this category. This incident qualifies as a hate crime because the attack targeted a Hindu procession specifically due to its association with Bajrang Dal, a Hindu organisation. The stone pelting was not random. It was directed at participants of a Shaurya Diwas procession that was visibly identifiable as a Hindu religious and cultural event. The attack took place in a communally sensitive locality with a sizable Muslim population, which added to the charged environment in which the violence occurred. The procession began peacefully and was moving toward Ram Chowk as part of Shaurya Diwas observances. The participants were celebrating an event of significance to their organisation and community. When the yatra reached the stretch near Durga Chowk and Saini Ashram, it was met with stone pelting from an unidentified group. No other gathering was attacked, and the assault targeted only the Bajrang Dal procession, indicating hostility specifically toward the group because it represented Hindu identity and Hindu organisational presence. The motive behind such targeting is clear. Hindu gatherings associated with recognised Hindu organisations often face resistance or violence in communally delicate areas. The attackers’ intention was to intimidate the procession, disrupt the event and send a warning that Hindu organisational activities would not be tolerated in the locality. While no injuries occurred, the purpose of the attack was to create panic, undermine the right of Hindus to hold processions and assert a sense of vulnerability among the participants. This incident cannot be isolated from broader patterns seen across different regions, where Hindu processions have been obstructed or attacked precisely because they are linked to Hindu groups. The attack on the Shaurya Diwas yatra reflects an attempt to suppress Hindu visibility, interrupt Hindu collective activities and instil fear among those who participate in or support Hindu organisations. For these reasons, the incident is recorded as a hate crime motivated by hostility toward individuals for being part of or supporting a perceived Hindu organisation. It is also important to mention here that, though the last update was that the miscreants were unknown, regardless, the action stemmed from hatred against Hindu identity and resulted in the attack on the procession and would therefore be considered a religiously motivated hate crime.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Unknown
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
