Hindu deities insulted, their sacred idols desecrated by two Muslim youths in Mumbai
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India 
10 March, 2026
Case Summary
In the Chembur area of Mumbai, Maharashtra, Hindu religious sentiments were insulted after two Muslim youths, including one identified as Ilyas Sheikh, made derogatory remarks about the traditional deities of the Agri-Koli Hindu community. The incident came to light on 11 March 2026, when a video began circulating widely online. In the video, the accused, Ilyas Sheikh, visibly intoxicated, was seen making derogatory remarks about the traditional idols and culture of the Agri-Koli Hindu community. He declared that he was a “policeman” and used vulgar language while desecrating the statues associated with the community’s cultural heritage. He placed an empty beer bottle in the hand of a male sculpture and another bottle in the basket of a female sculpture, mocking the statues and the traditions they represented. The second accused, who was recording the video, encouraged and instigated him during the act. The video of the incident quickly went viral and triggered outrage among members of the indigenous Agri-Koli community, who considered the remarks a direct insult to their religious beliefs, traditions, and collective identity. The Agri-Koli community traditionally follows Hinduism and has historically been native to the coastal regions of Mumbai and its surrounding areas. They regard their deities and cultural symbols with deep reverence. As news of the video spread, community members began searching for the individuals involved in recording and circulating the clip. Following the circulation of the video, a large group of Agri-Koli community members gathered outside the residence of the youth who had recorded the video in Chembur. The crowd entered the house and forced him to issue a public apology, escalating communal tensions in the area. The Mumbai Police promptly deployed additional personnel in the area to prevent further escalation and began an investigation into the incident. Meanwhile, the primary accused, Ilyas Sheikh, remained untraceable, while the other person who recorded the video was arrested by the police. As of the date of writing this report, the investigation was ongoing.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case is added to the tracker under the primary category- Hate Speech against Hindus. The subcategory selected 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. The second primary category selected here is - Attack on Hindu religious representation. Within it, the sub-category selected here 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. This case is a clear instance of religiously motivated hate speech and desecration directed at a Hindu community, as the Muslim accused deliberately mocked and insulted the cultural and religious symbols revered by the Agri-Koli Hindu community. The Agri-Koli community, an indigenous Hindu community native to the coastal regions of Mumbai and its surrounding areas, holds deep reverence for its traditional idols, ancestral figures, and cultural symbols, which form an integral part of its religious and social identity. By using vulgar language against these deities and cultural symbols while ridiculing statues, the act went beyond casual misconduct and constituted a direct insult to the religious and cultural beliefs of the community. Publicly targeting the sacred symbols of a Hindu community reflects a deliberate attempt to demean their faith and traditions, thereby wounding the collective sentiments of its members and demonstrating clear hostility towards their religious identity. Furthermore, the accused also placed empty alcohol bottles on the statues associated with the community’s cultural heritage while making abusive remarks. Within Hindu traditions, idols and sacred representations are treated with deep sanctity and reverence, and acts that defile or mock them are widely regarded as desecration. Placing alcohol bottles in such a manner with the intention to insult, symbolised deliberate disrespect and humiliation of the community’s sacred icons. Alcohol is commonly viewed in many Hindu traditions as incompatible with sacred spaces and objects, and placing beer bottles in the hands and baskets of the statues signified a conscious effort to degrade and ridicule the revered figures represented by them. Such behaviour was not merely inappropriate but reflected clear religious animosity, as it intentionally sought to profane symbols that hold spiritual and cultural significance for the community. The harm was further amplified by the fact that the video was recorded and circulated on social media, ensuring that the offensive content reached a wide audience. By documenting the act and sharing it online, the accused transformed what could have been an isolated act of misconduct into a public spectacle designed to attract attention and provoke reactions. When derogatory content targeting Hindu religious symbols is shared in such a manner, it emboldens others to replicate similar behaviour, contributing to a culture in which mocking or insulting Hindu traditions becomes normalised. Social media in general has devolved into a hub of anti-Hindu vitriol, inundated with derogatory memes, comments, and images that relentlessly mock and abuse Hinduism, its deities, and its revered scholars. These coordinated assaults permeate platforms daily, transforming sacred icons into punchlines and caricatures. This pervasive pattern of anti-Hindu hate speech constitutes clear instances of online Hinduphobia, inflicting profound hurt on Hindu sentiments and rendering the community a perpetual target for ridicule and abuse. Given that the actions in this case involved the deliberate desecration of revered cultural symbols of a Hindu community, the incident meets the parameters of a religiously motivated offence. The act demonstrated clear hostility towards the religious and cultural identity of the Agri-Koli Hindu community and therefore has been included in the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker.
Case Status
Case sub-judice
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
