Hindu women sexually assaulted by Muslim men posing as Hindus during religious event in Madhya Pradesh
Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India 
25 August, 2025
Case Summary
In the Rajwada area of Indore, Madhya Pradesh, Hindu women attending a bhajan event were sexually assaulted by a group of nearly half a dozen Muslim men. The accused had posed as Hindus by adopting false Hindu names before carrying out the crime. According to reports, the incident occurred during a grand bhajan evening, a religious and cultural programme organised in Rajwada on the occasion of Hartali Teej. Thousands of Hindu women and Hindu families from Indore city were present at the event organised annually by MP Shankar Lalwani. The atmosphere deteriorated suddenly when a group of Muslim youths in the gathering began molesting and sexually assaulting women while using false Hindu names. Bajrang Dal department co-convenor Avinash Kaushal stated that a large number of Hindu women were present at the event when suspicious youths entered the crowd and began touching and molesting women inappropriately. When Bajrang Dal workers caught them and questioned their identities, they initially gave Hindu names. Upon stricter interrogation, their real names were revealed to be Muslim. Following this, the accused were handed over to the police. Bajrang Dal workers apprehended more than half a dozen Muslim youths, some of whom were beaten before being turned over to the authorities. Bajrang Dal convenor Praveen Darekar said that this was not the first such incident, stating that Muslim youths had been entering large Hindu gatherings using fake identities to harass women. He added that Bajrang Dal had resolved to take on the responsibility of protecting Hindu women at future large-scale events. ACP Hemant Chauhan arrived at the site and took charge after the incident. The accused Muslims were arrested and taken to the police station. Meanwhile, Hindu organisations announced that if such incidents were repeated, they would stage strong protests.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. Within this, the subcategory selected is- Man pretends to be Hindu. The tertiary category selected is- Name Changed. When a non-Hindu man pretends to be a Hindu to deceive a Hindu woman into a relationship, the act is seen as triggered by malafide intentions. In some cases, the woman eventually accepts the man’s original religious identity and converts after the man’s identity is revealed. These cases could be argued as cases of religious brainwashing and a result of the pressure a woman feels after getting into a relationship with a man. The woman, it can be argued, also changed her religious identity because of the stigma she believes she might face if she chooses to walk out of a deceptive relationship. However, for the purpose of documenting hate crimes, the cases in this subcategory are limited to those where there is explicit violence aimed at religious conversion against the wishes of the victim (force-feeding beef, blackmailing with intimate videos, rape on refusal to convert, etc), or if the woman herself complains of the man’s religious deception. In such cases, it is established that the deception of the non-Hindu man had a specific aim of religious conversion or targeting of the victim due to her Hindu religious identity, therefore, making it a religiously motivated hate crime. Another primary category selected in this case is- Attack on Hindu religious representations. Within this, the subcategory selected is- Defiling religious customs. Sanatan Dharma is not a religion of one book, which is to say that while it has religious scriptures that form the central tenets of the faith, there are several traditions followed through thousands of years, mostly passed from generation to generation orally. There are several such customs and traditions that are followed by various Hindus and Hindu sects. Defiling of these traditions and customs is a breach of an individual or group’s religious practices. Such practices can range from dietary restrictions like not eating non-vegetarian food for a certain period of the year, not eating non-vegetarian food at all, not eating beef since the cow is considered holy in Hinduism, the sanctity of religious customs followed in the house (like many ISCKON devotees), etc. Any malicious action leading to the breach of such traditions or defilement of these traditions owing to animosity towards the faith or for the sake of activism stems not only from the lack of faith in the religion itself but also from disregard for the faith of the devotees who follow the customs/traditions and implicit bias against the faith, the tradition itself. Since these specific traditions are central to the faith of the devotees of that specific sect of Hindus, any non-compliance with these traditional rules would be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. Firstly, it is important to clarify that the primary category under which this case is documented is “Crimes Against Women in Relationships and Other Sexual Crimes.” Generally, this category includes cases where Hindu women are targeted, lured into relationships, and then exploited or pressured to convert by non-Hindu men. However, the name of the category itself recognises a wider scope, as it also incorporates “other sexual crimes.” This case, therefore, appropriately falls within this category. In this event in Rajwada, the Muslim perpetrators entered a Hindu religious gathering — the Hartali Teej bhajan evening — by concealing their real identities and posing as Hindus. By adopting false Hindu names to gain access to a sacred cultural occasion, the perpetrators demonstrate deceit aimed directly at undermining the sanctity of Hindu identity and traditions. Their entry is not neutral; it is deliberate, and it intrudes into a Hindu space while displaying bias and disregard for Hindu sentiments. Once inside, the Muslim perpetrators direct their actions against Hindu women. By presenting themselves as Hindus, they deliberately seek to gain the trust and proximity of Hindu women in order to harass and sexually assault them. This behaviour is not random; it is targeted specifically at Hindu women because of their faith. Such conduct exposes deep-seated animosity and bias against Hindus, transforming the sexual assault into a clear faith-based attack rather than an isolated offence. This demonstrates the religiously motivated nature of the offence. Another point to highlight is that the crime takes place during Hartali Teej, a sacred festival for Hindus, within a devotional assembly devoted to bhajans and worship. Committing such acts in the midst of a holy occasion amounts to more than an attack on individuals. It becomes an attack on the collective faith of the community, an offence against its religious customs, and a violation of the sanctity of the religious and spiritual environment. This misconduct during a sacred Hindu celebration represents an attempt to defile and desecrate cultural and religious traditions, further reinforcing the hate-driven nature of the act. This again affirms the religiously motivated nature of the offence. Given that this case meets multiple parameters of a religiously motivated crime, it is being added to the hate crime database. Disclaimer: Media reports do not specify the exact number of perpetrators. However, they do indicate that more than half a dozen Muslim men were involved. For documentation purposes, we are taking a conservative estimate and keeping the perpetrator count as '6'.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 5 to 10
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
