Hindus brutally assaulted, homes and property vandalised by Muslim mob after minor dispute during Muharram procession

Case ID : e274b1f | Location : Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Thu, 3 July, 2025

Case ID : e274b1f

Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh, India

3 July, 2025

Hindus brutally assaulted, homes and property vandalised by Muslim mob after minor dispute during Muharram procession

Attack not resulting in death

Communal clash/attack

Case Summary

In Pure Andi Majra Kudha village, Nasirabad, Hindu villagers were violently attacked by members of the Muslim community during a Muharram procession following a minor disagreement. According to reports, the procession passed through the village around 7 PM, during which Muslims raised objectionable slogans outside a Hindu resident, Bhanu Pratap’s home. When some Hindu villagers objected to slogans and loud noise, a verbal altercation ensued, and the procession briefly dispersed. Shortly afterwards, a mob of approximately 150 Muslims, armed with sticks, axes, and other weapons, returned and launched a violent assault on Bhanu Pratap’s house and a nearby brick kiln. During the attack, another Hindu villager, Vijay Shukla, sustained injuries to his hand. The mob also vandalised four motorcycles, a tractor, and an auto-rickshaw. Residents reported that the mob wreaked havoc in the village for over an hour. Police only arrived after videos of the incident began circulating on social media. Locals alleged that instead of taking action against the attackers, the police attempted to pressure the victims into a compromise. Vinod Babu Tiwari, a 75-year-old villager, reported that the Muharram procession had never previously taken that route and described the attack as deliberate and coordinated. Another resident, Chaitanya Singh Bhadoria, questioned how a religious procession from another district was allowed into their village without official permission, calling it a pre-planned conspiracy. Based on Bhanu Pratap’s complaint, the police registered an FIR naming Sajid Ali, Sonu, Phoolbabu Atu, Amroj, and Shabbir, along with 100 to 150 unidentified individuals. They have been booked under multiple sections related to assault and vandalism. The investigation is currently ongoing.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of: - Attack not resulting in death. Within it, the sub-category selected is: - Communal clash/attack. Communal clash is a form of collective violence that involves clashes between groups belonging to different religious identities. For a communal clash between Hindus and non-Hindus to qualify as a religiously motivated hate crime, the trigger of the violence itself would have to be anti-Hindu in essence. For example, if there is a Hindu religious procession that comes under attack from a non-Hindu mob and after the initial attack, Hindus retaliate in self-defence, leading to a communal clash between the two religious communities. While at a later stage, both communities are involved in the clash/violence, the initial trigger of the violence was by the non-Hindu mob against the Hindus and therefore, it could safely be termed as an anti-Hindu violence. Further, the trigger would also have to be religiously motivated. In the cited example, the attack by the non-Hindu mob was against religious processions and therefore, can be concluded to be religiously motivated. In some cases, the trigger may be non-religious, however, it develops into religious violence against Hindus at a later stage. In such cases too, the foundational animosity towards Hindus becomes the motivating factor of the crime and therefore, it would be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime against Hindus under this category. In this case, the initial dispute arose when Muslim participants in a Muharram procession raised objectionable slogans outside the home of a Hindu resident, Bhanu Pratap. When Hindu villagers objected to the slogans—seen as offensive and disrespectful—what followed was not a spontaneous quarrel but a highly organised retaliatory attack. A Muslim mob comprising 150 individuals returned with weapons such as sticks, axes, and batons and deliberately attacked the Hindu resident’s home and nearby properties, including a brick kiln. The scale of the assault, the number of attackers involved, and the destruction of property—including vehicles—strongly suggest premeditated violence rather than a mere personal feud. The communal nature of the incident is further reinforced by the fact that the attack was not limited to a single individual or family. Instead, it was directed against Hindus, specifically targeting them in retaliation for objecting to slogans raised during a religious procession. This makes it evident that the violence stemmed from a deeper hostility towards Hindus and their right to assert religious dignity in their own locality. Furthermore, the attack and the procession also seem deliberate. It was reported that the Muharam procession took a different route than intended. It entered a Hindu village from another district, without clear permission, and passed directly in front of homes where tensions arose. This strongly indicates that the attack wasn’t spontaneous, but a planned and deliberate act, aimed at asserting dominance. When religious processions deviate from their established paths, especially into areas where they have no history of passing, it often becomes a tool for provocation under the garb of religious expression. Taken together, the religious provocation, the scale of the violence, the specific targeting of Hindu homes and persons, and the communal polarisation that followed, all point to this being a case of anti-Hindu communal violence, motivated by religious hatred and therefore, a clear instance of a hate crime. Disclaimer: The news report explicitly mentions that one Hindu man, Vijay Shukla, sustained injuries during the incident. While the narrative and scale of the attack suggest that more individuals may have been harmed, in the absence of confirmed details, the victim count has been recorded as one for documentation purposes.