Case Summary

In the Jamtara district of Jharkhand, a group of tribal Hindu women were molested by 30 Muslim youths while bathing in a pond. According to reports, the incident took place when the women were bathing in a local pond. The Muslim youths, who were outsiders, entered the village and reached the pond. There, they began molesting the bathing women. Local villagers stated that these youths had been frequenting the village for the past 20–25 days, regularly bathing in the pond at the same time as the Hindu women and molesting them. Despite repeated warnings from the villagers to refrain from harassing the women and to avoid bathing at the same time, the youths continued their behaviour, sometimes undressing and bathing near the women. The accused came from nearby villages such as Kuruva and Karaiya. Despite prior warnings, when the Muslim youths again harassed the women, the villagers acted swiftly and detained all the accused. The police arrived at the scene, brought the situation under control, and released the youths from the villagers’ custody. Attempts were made to mediate between the two communities, but the Hindu villagers refused to compromise on the safety and dignity of their women. The police then began an investigation into this matter to confirm the involvement of those present at the site. Villagers demanded strict action against the accused. The Bharatiya Janata Party criticised the state government for failing to arrest the accused and for compromising the safety and dignity of tribal Hindu women. They also stated that, under the current Jharkhand government, violence committed by the Muslim community had increased to such an extent that even the tribal Hindu women were no longer safe.

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Why it is Hate Crime ?

In this case, a group of Hindu women were molested by a group of Muslim men. This incident could potentially constitute a crime motivated by religious profiling, as there have been several such instances in which the Muslim perpetrators target Hindu women and girls due to underlying animosity towards Hindus, particularly Hindu women. Hindu women and girls are especially vulnerable to crimes such as rape and sexual assault perpetrated by Muslim men. In this instance, the Muslim perpetrators repeatedly targeted Hindu women, despite several warnings from the villagers. They also travelled in large groups from nearby villages, raising suspicions that the crime may have communal undertones in which Hindu women were selectively targeted. However, it is also possible that the crime was opportunistic, with the Hindu women simply being more accessible to the perpetrators. At the same time, it could also be argued that Muslim women would likely be more accessible to Muslim perpetrators than Hindu women. The fact that Hindu women were specifically targeted may suggest religious profiling of the victims. Nevertheless, all this remains highly speculative, as the available details do not provide clear evidence of religious motivation. Furthermore, neither the victims nor the villagers have made statements indicating a religious motive behind the crime. For this reason, the case has been recorded in the 'Undecided' database. If further information emerges indicating a religious motivation behind the crime, then it will be reclassified and included in the Hate Crime database. Disclaimer: As media reports do not specify the exact date when these incidents began, but indicate that the harassment of Hindu women started 20–25 days prior, we are using an indicative date of 21st May 2025, although media reports state that the recent incident occurred on 15th June 2025. The Hinduphobia Tracker records the date when the victims’ ordeal begins, rather than when it gets reported in the media.