Hindu man assaulted and homes pelted with stones during Muharram procession in Lakhimpur Kheri

Case ID : e274b20 | Location : Lakhimpur, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Sat, 5 July, 2025

Case ID : e274b20

Lakhimpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

5 July, 2025

Hindu man assaulted and homes pelted with stones during Muharram procession in Lakhimpur Kheri

Attack not resulting in death

Communal clash/attack

Case Summary

In the Sharadanagar police station area, Lakhimpur Kheri district, Uttar Pradesh, Hindus were violently attacked during a Muharram procession. As the Muharram Tazia procession passed through the area, Muslim youths from the procession threw white powder at the houses of Hindu residents Siyaram and Jamunadin. When Jamunadin’s grandson, Pankaj, objected, he was beaten by members of the procession. Soon after, the Muslim mob began pelting stones at the Hindu family's house and neighbouring properties, damaging several homes and triggering communal tension in the area. Eyewitnesses stated that the attack appeared deliberate, with the powder thrown as a provocation, followed by immediate violence when challenged. Upon receiving information, senior officials, including SDM Sadar Ashwani Kumar Singh and Circle Officer Ramesh Chandra Tiwari, reached the spot with the Shardanagar police team. A heavy police presence was deployed to prevent further unrest. Although officials claimed the situation was under control, the atmosphere in the village remained tense. A video of the incident quickly went viral on social media, sparking outrage among Hindu organisations, who demanded swift action and warned authorities against ignoring the religious provocation at the root of the violence. Following a complaint by local resident Pankaj Kumar, the police registered an FIR against four named individuals from the village: Talib, Zahid, Suleman, and Noori.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

The primary category in this case is: Attack not resulting in death. 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 violence was triggered when Muslim participants of the Muharram procession deliberately targeted Hindu households by throwing white powder at their homes. This act, occurring during a religious procession and aimed specifically at Hindu families, constitutes a religious provocation. The reaction of the Muslim mob to Pankaj’s objection—beating him and escalating the situation by attacking the entire household—reflects pre-existing animosity and an intent to intimidate based on religious identity. The violence that followed was not random, but selective and directed only at Hindu homes, signifying that the aggressors acted out of communal animosity. The fact that the perpetrators were part of a religious procession and immediately resorted to stone pelting when their actions were objected to shows that the protest by the Hindu family was interpreted as an affront to the religious supremacy assumed by the attackers. This case clearly shows that the initial act of aggression came from the Muslim side, and the Hindu victims were forced into a defensive position. The specific targeting of Hindu individuals and properties, including multiple houses in the area, underscores that the violence was not incidental or random but rooted in hostility toward Hindus and their community presence. Disclaimer: The report confirms that one Hindu individual sustained injuries in the incident. While the sequence of events and the nature of the attack indicate the possibility of more victims, only one injured person has been officially documented. Accordingly, the victim count has been recorded as one. Disclaimer: The FIR filed in this case names only four individuals as accused. However, given the reported presence of a larger group involved in the assault and stone-pelting during the Muharram procession, it is likely that more individuals participated in the violence. In the absence of official confirmation or identification of additional perpetrators, the perpetrator count has been recorded as four for documentation purposes.