Hindu sentiments outraged as man makes abusive remarks on revered Hindu deities on social media
Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand, India 
22 February, 2026
Case Summary
In Rudrapur, Udham Singh Nagar district, Uttarakhand, Hindu deities were denigrated on social media by a man named Akash Babu. The accused made a social media video abusing Hindu deities. This incident came to light as the accused's video went viral on social media. In the video, the accused openly abused Lord Ram and Goddess Sita. The video went viral, leading to outrage within the Hindu community. The content of the video was described as insulting to Hindu religious sentiments. Bajrang Dal Rudrapur unit coordinator Prince Kohli submitted a written complaint to the police after the video went viral. In the complaint, he identified the accused youth as Akash Babu and demanded immediate action. The memorandum stated that the video had caused significant anger within the Hindu community. The complaint further stated that the anti-Hindu remarks had deeply hurt religious sentiments. Bajrang Dal demanded that strict action be taken against the perpetrator and that he be arrested without delay. Police took the accused youth into custody following the complaint. Authorities then initiated legal proceedings under relevant sections of the law and further investigation remained ongoing. Bajrang Dal warned that if prompt action was not taken, Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal members would take to the streets in protest. Meanwhile, a video in which the accused youth appeared to apologise had also circulated on social media. At the time of writing this report, the matter remained under investigation.
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 stood as a clear instance of religiously motivated hate speech because the accused deliberately made derogatory and abusive remarks against Lord Ram and Goddess Sita, two of the most revered Hindu deities, through a widely shared social media video. Lord Ram and Goddess Sita hold unparalleled reverence among Hindus as the divine protagonists of the Ramayana, embodying dharma, devotion, righteousness, and marital fidelity; millions honour them through daily prayers, festivals like Ram Navami and Diwali, and lifelong pilgrimages to sacred sites like Ayodhya. Any assault on their sanctity wounds the deepest sentiments of the Hindu community, who cherish these figures with profound love, respect, and spiritual devotion. Such public denigration of revered Hindu deities strikes directly at the Hindu faith, born from deep-seated religious animosity towards the community that holds these deities sacred, marking it unequivocally as religiously motivated hate speech. The accused amplified this malice by posting the video on social media, a platform reaching millions, deliberately crafted to provoke outrage and inspire others to echo such denigrating remarks against Hindu deities. This calculated dissemination maximised harm to collective Hindu sentiments, spreading venom far beyond personal ranting and fueling broader contempt for the faith. Given that this case met all parameters of religiously motivated hate speech, it was added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incident dates based on when the crime occurred, rather than when it was reported by the media. In this case, media reports did not specify the exact date when the crime occurred. Hence, the date the media publicised this report, that is 23 February 2026, was selected as the indicative incident date. This was recorded for documentation purposes only.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Others
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
