Hindu community vilified and denigrated with offensive remarks by Muslim man on social media
Durg, Chhattisgarh, India 
20 February, 2026
Case Summary
The Hindu community was targeted with derogatory remarks by a Muslim man identified as Najrul Khan, a resident of the Bhilai Camp area, Durg district, Chhattisgarh. The accused made offensive anti-Hindu remarks on one of his videos that went viral on social media. According to reports, the video hurt the religious sentiments and incited the Hindu community. Following complaints from Hindu organisations, police took immediate action and arrested Najrul. The incident led to tension in the area, and police deployed additional personnel to maintain law and order. This started when a video circulated on social media in which Najrul Khan made objectionable remarks against Hindus, calling them "Bhagwa Atankwadi", meaning saffron terrorists. A written complaint was submitted to the police by Ravi Nigam, the state co-convenor of the Chhattisgarh Bajrang Dal, a Hindu organisation. In his complaint, he said that Najrul Khan made derogatory remarks against Hindus and attempted to disturb social harmony. The complaint also mentioned that the perpetrator had shared a video of a Hindu youth being beaten and expressed support for it. Pramod Patel, head of the Hindu Jagran Manch, a Hindu organisation, also demanded strict action against the perpetrator. He stated that such remarks could pose a serious threat to law and order and increase social tension. Ravi Nigam further stated that a complaint had been filed as part of legal procedure and that no one should be allowed to make inflammatory statements if law and order were to be maintained. He also said that Najrul Khan had previously been involved in controversies and had been arrested in 2021 in connection with a case related to liquor smuggling. Police officials stated that the viral video was being investigated and that a case had been registered under relevant sections. Further action was ongoing.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The primary category for this case is "Hate speech against Hindus". The sub-category 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. This case constituted a clear instance of religiously motivated hate speech, as the Muslim perpetrator targeted the entire Hindu community with derogatory slurs, labelling them all as terrorists through the term "Bhagwa Atankwadi". By invoking this phrase, he painted every Hindu as a saffron-clad terrorist, a sweeping vilification that dehumanised the community and incited hostility against them collectively. Such rhetoric exemplified hate speech by equating an entire religious group's identity with violence and extremism, fostering discrimination, prejudice, and potential violence; it normalised stereotypes that justified attacks on Hindus, eroded social cohesion, and created fear among community members who faced being branded as inherent threats based solely on their faith. The association of terrorism with "Bhagwa", the sacred saffron colour central to Hinduism, further underscored the perpetrator's religious animosity. Saffron holds profound significance in Hindu tradition as a symbol of purity, renunciation, spirituality, and divine energy, worn by sadhus, featured in temple rituals, and representing the fire of knowledge in scriptures like the Vedas. By denigrating this colour, linking it explicitly to "atankwadi" or terrorism, the perpetrator expressed deep-seated contempt for core Hindu religious identity and expressions, mocking sacred symbols to provoke outrage and division. This calculated insult transformed mere provocation into religiously motivated hate speech, as it sought to desecrate Hinduism's spiritual heritage, incite retaliatory tensions, and perpetuate prejudice against Hindus as a faith group. Given that this case meets the parameters of a religiously motivated hate speech, it is being added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia tracker. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incident dates based on when a crime occurred or when the victim’s ordeal began, rather than when the media reported it. In this case, the report does not specify the exact date when the objectionable video was recorded or when the statements were made. Therefore, the media publication date, 21 February 2026, has been used as the indicative incident date. This has been recorded for documentation purposes only.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
