Hindu family brutally attacked by armed Muslim mob over dispute with neighbour regarding disposal of garbage

Case ID : e274bfd | Location : Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India | Date of Incident : Sun, 6 July, 2025

Case ID : e274bfd

Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India

6 July, 2025

Hindu family brutally attacked by armed Muslim mob over dispute with neighbour regarding disposal of garbage

Attack not resulting in death

Communal clash/attack

Case Summary

In the Bhavna Nagar area of Raipur, Chhattisgarh, a Hindu family was brutally attacked by a Muslim mob following a minor verbal dispute with a neighbour regarding the disposal of garbage. This verbal exchange escalated into a communal attack when a mob of nearly 80 Muslims attacked the Hindu family with sharp weapons, leaving the victims severely injured. Media reports stated that the incident began with a minor verbal altercation between a man named Sanjay Chaudhary, a local resident, and his neighbour Rajesh Tiwari. Sanjay’s family used to leave leftover food for stray animals outside Rajesh Tiwari's house. When Tiwari objected to this, it resulted in an argument. The situation escalated into communal violence when a Muslim local named Yasin Sheikh, also known as Sonu, a known history-sheeter in the area and Sanjay’s neighbour, got involved. He, together with his Muslim associates, attacked Rajesh Tiwari’s house with an axe multiple times. Rajesh Tiwari’s son reported that a mob of approximately 70–80 Muslim men, armed with sticks, rods, and knives, forcibly entered their home and brutally assaulted his father and their friends. The attackers broke down the door using an axe. In a desperate attempt to escape, the victims fled to the terrace, but the mob pursued them relentlessly. They jumped from one terrace to another seeking refuge, but were eventually caught and subjected to a savage assault. The victims sustained serious injuries to their faces, legs, backs, and abdomens. Following this attack, the police arrived and took the injured Tiwari family to the hospital. The Muslim attackers followed them to the hospital, and a mob of nearly 100 Muslims assaulted them again, this time in front of the police. After this second attack, the victim, Rajesh Tiwari, lodged a police complaint. Based on CCTV footage and witness statements, the police arrested Sanjay Chaudhary, Yasin Sheikh, and others, including Irfan Siddiqui, Anas Atif, and Rayaz Aggarwal. Charges of attempted murder and rioting were filed against the accused. However, around a dozen more attackers were absconding. After videos of the attack went viral, the environment in the area became tense. Even Bajrang Dal workers protested in front of the police station and Yasin’s house, demanding strict action. Hindu organisations challenged the administration, stating that the attack was communal and that any delay in arresting the remaining suspects would not be tolerated. The accused Yasin’s family claimed that the attack was not communal in nature. Seeing the tense situation in the area, the police deployed forces in that area to maintain law and order. However, the fear still lingered among the local Hindus in the area.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Attack not resulting in death. Within this, the subcategory 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. This incident clearly qualifies as a religiously motivated hate crime for several reasons. Most notably, the Muslim mob that attacked Rajesh Tiwari’s family was not even directly involved in the initial dispute, which was a personal and non-religious altercation between two Hindus- Sanjay Chaudhary and Rajesh Tiwari, over the disposal of food waste. However, local Muslims, led by history-sheeter Yasin Sheikh, seized this minor argument as an opportunity to launch a coordinated and brutal attack on the Hindu family. The fact that individuals with no direct stake in the quarrel mobilised a violent mob armed with axes, rods, and knives reveals that there was pre-existing communal hostility, and that the argument served merely as a pretext for an assault rooted in religious animosity. Such disproportionate aggression, where a private dispute was escalated into a full-blown mob attack involving 70–80 Muslim men, suggests this was not a spontaneous reaction but an act of deliberate communal targeting. The attackers’ decision to insert themselves into the conflict and attack a Hindu household, that too so brutally, indicates a deep-seated hatred and an intent to punish or dominate the Hindu community. The communal nature of the attack became even more evident when the Muslim assailants pursued the Hindu victims to the hospital and continued their assault in the presence of police. This repeated violence, even in a place meant for care and protection, underscored the deliberate targeted nature of the attack. The fact that the violence persisted despite police intervention and continued in a public institution highlights the depth of hostility and the communal motivations driving the attack. It also points to a sense of impunity and religious entitlement, a belief that they could act violently without consequence. Such acts of violence against Hindus are not isolated or spontaneous incidents; rather, they are driven by deep-seated religious animosity towards the Hindu community and Islamic supremacist ideology, which views non-Muslims as inherently inferior and reacts with hostility when they do not submit or comply with its demands. In supremacist interpretations of Islam, religious dominance is enforced not just through symbolism but by controlling public spaces, suppressing non-Muslims, and punishing them for any perceived disrespect, even when unintentional or unrelated. In this case, a mere verbal dispute was treated as a provocation, triggering violent retaliation. The fact that the Hindu family was repeatedly assaulted by a mob of nearly 100 Muslims with sharp weapons, leaving the victims severely injured, reveals the underlying religious hostility driving the attack. The Hinduphobia Tracker has documented numerous similar instances where communal attacks on Hindus began over non-religious disputes but quickly escalated, leaving Hindu victims seriously injured. For example, on 22nd June 2025, in Ghongade Basti, Solapur, Maharashtra, a Hindu man and his brother were brutally attacked by a Muslim mob following a minor road dispute. The incident quickly escalated into targeted communal violence against the local Hindu community. Another such instance occurred on 6th June 2025, in Kadabin Jinsi Haat Maidan, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, where a Dalit Hindu family was brutally attacked by a group of Muslims over a minor water dispute. The assailants also hurled caste-based slurs, and even women and a child were severely beaten. A similar case of communal attack occurred on 2nd June 2025, in Saraiya, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, a Dalit Hindu man named Vishal Sonkar was brutally assaulted by a group of Muslim youths after a minor disagreement over road space. He suffered severe head injuries from rods and sticks. A similar instance of communal violence was reported on 6th July 2025, in Deoband, Uttar Pradesh, a Dalit Hindu wedding procession was attacked by a Muslim mob over the playing of DJ music while passing by a mosque. The victims were severely injured with sharp weapons and sticks. The above-mentioned cases clearly demonstrate a pattern of attacks against Hindus. Even if the conflict is a result of a non-communal issue, it often takes on a communal nature where Hindus are frequently targeted and brutally attacked by a large Muslim mob. These attacks are not random or spontaneous acts of violence. What happened to Rajesh Tiwari’s family in Raipur is part of a larger pattern where Hindus are targeted not just out of personal anger, but because of deep-rooted religious hatred and a supremacist mindset. It was about punishing Hindus for standing up or speaking out. Muslims who believe in supremacist interpretations of their religion see Hindus as infidels or kafirs who deserve to be silenced or attacked if they don’t submit. This belief creates a sense of entitlement, where they feel justified in using violence to assert dominance. This case mirrors several others across the country. Time and again, small disagreements—over roads, water, music, or neighbourhood issues- turn into communal attacks, where large Muslim mobs target Hindus. The response is always premeditated and excessive, and the victims are left seriously injured, sometimes for life. The pattern is clear: Hindus are being deliberately targeted, even when the issue has nothing to do with religion. This kind of repeated violence is not just criminal—it is communal. It stems from religious hatred and a desire to intimidate Hindus. That makes it a hate crime, and it must be recognised and documented as such.