Hindu sentiments attacked: Muslim man booked for abusing Lord Ram and targeting Kanwar Yatra
Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India 
3 August, 2023
Case Summary
In Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, Sabu Khan, a Muslim youth, was booked by police after he posted objectionable content on social media targeting the Kanwar Yatra and Lord Ram. The incident took place in Kohni village, under the Bhuta police station area. Khan shared an Instagram reel in which 3 men can be seen explicitly abusing Lord Ram. He shared several other posts on Facebook which were highly derogatory and disrespectful to Hindu sentiments. Khan's Facebook post quickly went viral, leading to widespread outrage within the Hindu community, who called for immediate police action. Authorities at the Bhuta police station registered a case against him in response. This was not Khan's first attempt to incite religious tensions; he had previously been accused of throwing dirty water on the Hindu community during a Muharram procession.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The primary category in this case is: Hate speech against Hindus. The secondary category under this 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 actions of Sabu Khan fall squarely within the definition of a religiously motivated hate crime because they were designed to vilify, demean, and incite hostility against Hindus as a collective. By posting a reel in which men explicitly abuse Lord Ram, one of Hinduism’s most revered deities, Khan knowingly targeted a foundational pillar of Hindu belief. Such speech is not mere irreverence; it is a calculated affront intended to provoke emotional injury and to normalise contempt for Hindu identity. The offence is aggravated by context and repetition. Khan’s earlier act of throwing dirty water at Hindus during a Muharram procession demonstrates a pattern of behaviour, indicating sustained animosity rather than an isolated lapse. When an individual repeatedly attacks sacred symbols (in this case, Lord Ram and the Kanwar Yatra) and insults Hindu devotees, the intent is unmistakable: to discourage public Hindu practice, to erode the community’s sense of dignity, and to signal that their faith is unworthy of respect. Such conduct fosters an atmosphere in which violence or further harassment becomes easier to justify, thereby fulfilling the broader purpose of hate speech, to marginalise a group and render it more vulnerable to future harm. Disclaimer: Though the incident was reported in July 2025, the oldest related viral video clip in question was posted on August 4, 2023. Therefore, for documentation purposes, we have recorded the date as August 4, 2023.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
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