Idol of Hindu goddess desecrated by miscreants a day after Saraswati Puja in Dibrugarh, Assam
Dibrugarh, Assam, India 
23 January, 2026
Case Summary
In Dibrugarh, Assam, an idol of Goddess Saraswati was desecrated and damaged by a few unidentified miscreants. This occurred on the day after Saraswati Puja, a revered Hindu festival. Saraswati Puja, also known as Vasant Panchami, honours Goddess Saraswati, the Hindu deity of knowledge, wisdom, music, arts, and learning. This festival, marking spring's arrival, symbolises renewal, intellectual growth, and new educational beginnings, with rituals like placing books and instruments before her idol for blessings. It holds deep cultural importance in India, especially for students and artists seeking success, often featuring the Aksharabhyasa rite to initiate children into learning. According to media reports, this incident occurred in Dibrujan Jalan Nagar labour line in Dibrugarh on 24 January 2026, the day after Saraswati Puja was celebrated across Assam. The local Hindu residents were deeply hurt by this attack on their faith and religious festival. Local residents said such an incident had never occurred in the area before and demanded strict punishment for those responsible. Locals said if strict punishment was issued, such attacks would not happen in future.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case is being added to the tracker under the primary category- Attack on Hindu religious representations. The subcategory selected is- Desecration of Hindu religious symbols. Icons and symbols or a religious representation of a spiritual ideal are widely revered in Hinduism. Iconography is of vital significance in the Hindu milieu. It helps connect people’s spiritual beliefs with the real world. Iconography within the Hindu faith takes several shapes and forms. Murtis are of most significance to Hindus, to which daily rituals, prayers and offerings are done. Besides the murtis, there are several other symbols which have deep significance in the Hindu faith – the Om and Swastika for example. Since these Hindu religious symbols hold paramount importance in Hinduism, any desecration of symbols, icons, murtis, religious representations and manifestations, is driven by animosity towards the faith itself which manifests itself through these murtis, icons and symbols. Therefore, any desecration of these Hindu religious symbols and representations is considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. In this case, the desecration of a revered idol of Goddess Saraswati, a day after Saraswati Puja, by unidentified miscreants reveals the religious motivation behind this hate-driven crime. In Hinduism, idols or murtis are sacred embodiments of the divine, consecrated through elaborate rituals like prana pratishtha to invoke and house the deity's presence, deeply revered by Hindus as tangible links to the divine that inspire devotion, prayer, and spiritual connection in daily worship and festivals. The act of desecrating the sacred idol of Goddess Saraswati, a day after the Saraswati Puja celebration, showcases deep-seated religious animosity that the perpetrators held towards the Hindu community and Hindu symbols. Such desecration of sacred symbols is very offensive to the Hindu community and causes deep emotional hurt to them. The fact that this occurred a day after Saraswati Puja shows that it was not just a random act of vandalism; the perpetrators intended to desecrate the festival's aftermath, target the Hindu community, create disturbance, cause communal tensions, and inflict religious hurt in the wake of one of their most revered Hindu festivals. This constitutes a clear instance of an attack linked to the festival itself, making it a religiously motivated crime. Although the perpetrators' identities remain unknown in this case, the act clearly stems from religious hostility. It demonstrates overt religious animosity, marking it as a hate-driven crime. Consequently, this case has been added to the Hate Crime Database of the Hinduphobia Tracker.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Unknown
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
