Hindu devotees attacked during Khatu Shyam Jagran in Bareilly; picture of Khatu Shyam broken and pandal vandalised
Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India 
19 August, 2025
Case Summary
In the Shahabad area of Prem Nagar, Bareilly, Hindu devotees, during the Khatu Shyam Jagran, were targeted and attacked by the Muslim community. They also vandalised the pandal and broke the picture of Khatu Shyam. According to reports, the Khatu Shyam Jagran was organised by Hindu residents Vishal and Ramesh Kashyap, who had erected a pandal on the road outside their house. The jagran, which started in the evening, ended at around 7:30 pm, and prasad was being distributed to the devotees. During this time, a Muslim man named Hasan, a resident of the same area, tore the curtain of the pandal and demanded its removal. The organisers and the Hindu devotees opposed him, and the minor argument quickly escalated into a scuffle. Hasan called several others from outside, and together they started attacking the devotees. They also defaced and destroyed the picture of Khatu Shyam, further escalating the tensions in the area. Amidst the chaos, women and children were caught in a stampede, and several people sustained injuries. Hasan claimed that the pandal obstructed access to his house and caused difficulty for his family in commuting, and repeated requests to remove it were ignored. On receiving information, the police immediately reached the spot and brought the situation under control. Three individuals were taken into custody and interrogated, while the main accused, including others from the Muslim community, locked his house and absconded. Investigation revealed that the Jagran was organised without written permission, and the police worked to identify and question those involved. The administration and police appealed to both communities to maintain peace, emphasising that rumours or further violence would not be tolerated, and additional security forces were deployed to ensure peace in the area.
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 - Attack against Hindu devotees. Hindu devotees are a few of the easiest targets of religiously motivated hate crimes because during the festival/procession/puja etc, for non-Hindus it is easy to profile their victims on the basis of religion. Hindu devotees come under attack on several occasions by individual non-Hindus or mobs of non-Hindus owing to their animosity against Hinduism, its symbols and tradition/practices. There are several instances of Hindu devotees being attacked while they worship in temples or temporary religious structures, during religious processions, doing bhajan/kirtan/puja in their own homes, in the residential society etc. These attacks are perpetrated by non-Hindus primarily because of their animosity towards Hindus and their faith. In some cases, the trigger for the violence may be non-religious, however, there are two elements that make these hate crimes. First, the Hindus who come under attack are attacked violently while indulging in religious activity. Whether they are in a place of worship or not is immaterial to the crime. When individuals are attacked while indulging in religious practices, the attack in itself is a hindrance to their freedom to practice religion and therefore constitutes a hate crime. Secondly, religious supremacist doctrines and ideologies deem religious practices of Hindus to be offensive ab initio since they are considered “sinful” by these ideologies, worthy to be annihilated by force or coercion. Driven by these religious supremacist ideologies and doctrines, the attacks against Hindu devotees stem from intrinsic animosity towards Hinduism. In some cases, the trigger for the violence may be non-religious, however, it develops into a religiously motivated crime during the course of the violence. Since these attacks stem from animosity towards Hindus and Hinduism, they are considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. The second 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. The third sub-category selected is - Attacked for Hindu identity. In several cases, Hindus are attacked merely for their Hindu identity without any perceived provocation. A classic example of this category of religiously motivated hate crime is a murder in 2016. 7 ISIS terrorists were convicted for shooting a school principal in Kanpur because they got ‘triggered’ seeing the Kalava on his wrist and tilak that he had put. In this, the Hindu victim had offered no provocation except for his Hindu religious identity. The motivation for the murder was purely religious, driven by religious supremacy. Such cases where Hindus are targeted merely for their religious identity would be documented as a hate crime under this category. The second primary category selected here is - Attack on Hindu religious representations. Within it, the sub-category selected is - Violence against religious structures or centres. In Hinduism, a religious structure is also considered divine. Hindus believe that not just the Deity but the religious structure itself is sacred. In this sub-category, we would document attacks against religious structures which are not consecrated temple spaces. Such religious spaces could be temporary in nature – for example – the religious spaces erected specifically for festivals like Durga Puja etc. This category would also document cases of attacks against religious centres. These spaces in their own right may not be ‘sacred’ per se, however, are often spaces where religious gurus live, religious teaching is imparted, or belong to religious institutions. Any attack against religious structures is a result of animosity towards the religion itself, which manifests itself through the religious spaces and therefore, such attacks are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. Religious centres are also manifestations of the religion, its teachings or gurus and therefore, attacks against such centres would be considered religiously motivated hate crimes. The other sub-category relevant here is - Desecration of Hindu religious symbols. Icons and symbols or a religious representation of a spiritual ideal are widely revered in Hinduism. Iconography is of vital significance in the Hindu milieu. It helps connect people’s spiritual beliefs with the real world. Iconography within the Hindu faith takes several shapes and forms. Murtis are of most significance to Hindus, to which daily rituals, prayers and offerings are done. Besides the murtis, there are several other symbols which have deep significance in the Hindu faith – the Om and Swastika for example. Since these Hindu religious symbols hold paramount importance in Hinduism, any desecration of symbols, icons, murtis, religious representations and manifestations, is driven by animosity towards the faith itself which manifests itself through these murtis, icons and symbols. Therefore, any desecration of these Hindu religious symbols and representations is considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. This case has been added to the tracker because the Khatu Shyam Jagran, a devotional and religious event organised by Hindu devotees, was attacked by the Muslim community. This pattern has been seen repeatedly, where the Muslim community resorts to aggression or violence over minor inconveniences or any outward expression of Hindu identity. The accused called friends and attacked the Hindu devotees, destroying the picture of Khatu Shyam, the presiding deity of the Jagran. The event had already ended, making such a violent reaction disproportionate, further portraying that the pandal was just a pretext. The underlying motivations were clearly rooted in religious animosity against the Hindu community for organising the event. The violence was aimed at disrupting a Hindu religious event and was rooted in animosity towards the public expression of Hindu devotion. This clearly shows that the attack was not a neutral civil dispute but stemmed from deep-rooted religious animosity. Hindu devotees were targeted because they were visibly practising and asserting their faith. Since the violence was driven by animosity towards Hinduism, this case has been added to the tracker as a religiously motivated hate crime. Furthermore, the destruction of the picture of Khatu Shyam was a deliberate attack on a sacred object of worship. In Hinduism, idols, images, or symbols of deities are not mere artistic representations but are deeply revered manifestations of the divine. Their desecration is a direct affront to the religious sentiments of Hindus and an act of profound disrespect. Such acts of violence against Hindu religious icons are not just an attack on property, but assaults on the spiritual, cultural, and social identity of the Hindu community, which derives spiritual, cultural, and social meaning from such spaces.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
