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, Hindu women attending a bhajan event during Hartalika Teej were sexually harassed by a group of nearly half a dozen Muslim men. The perpetrators had entered the gathering after adopting false Hindu identities and names. The incident occurred during a grand bhajan evening organised in Rajwada on the occasion of Hartalika Teej. The religious and cultural programme, attended by thousands of Hindu women and families from across Indore, was organised annually by BJP MP Shankar Lalwani. The atmosphere turned tense when a group of suspicious youths in the gathering began touching, molesting and sexually harassing Hindu women. According to Bajrang Dal department co-convenor Avinash Kaushal, the suspicious youths were caught by Bajrang Dal workers and questioned about their identities. They initially gave Hindu names, but upon further questioning, their identities were revealed to be Muslim. The Bajrang Dal workers subsequently apprehended more than half a dozen Muslim youths and handed them over to the police. Some of the accused were beaten before being taken into police custody. Bajrang Dal convenor Praveen Darekar said that the incident was not isolated and that Muslim youths had previously entered large Hindu gatherings using fake identities to harass Hindu women. He said the Bajrang Dal had resolved to take responsibility for protecting Hindu women at future large-scale Hindu events. ACP Hemant Chauhan arrived at the spot and took charge of the situation following the incident. The accused Muslim men were arrested and taken to the police station. Following the incident, Hindu organisations warned that they would stage strong protests if such incidents were repeated.
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: 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. Another primary category selected 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. The other subcategory selected is: Breaking rules of place of worship. 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. One of these oral traditions or written traditions is the rules of specific temples. Certain temples have rules which are traditional rules, dependent on the worship of the presiding deities. These rules and traditions have been followed for thousands of years whether they find scriptural mention or not. Such traditions are based on the nature and rules of worship of the presiding deity of that temple. Any non-compliance 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 presiding deity but also disregard for the faith of the devotees of that deity/temple and implicit bias against the faith, the tradition and the deity itself. Since these specific traditions are central to the faith of the devotees of that specific temple and presiding deity, any non-compliance with these traditional rules would be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. This incident qualifies as a religiously motivated hate crime because the Muslim perpetrators chose Hindu women at a Hindu religious gathering as the targets of sexual harassment. The fact that they specifically targeted women belonging to the Hindu community within a Hindu religious setting indicates that the victims were targeted after being identified as members of a particular faith. Had the conduct been motivated solely by sexual gratification, the perpetrators could have targeted women irrespective of their religious identity or in a setting unrelated to religion. Instead, they chose a Hindu religious gathering and targeted Hindu women participating in it, demonstrating a deliberate focus on members of the Hindu community. The circumstances therefore indicate that the victims’ Hindu identity was a factor in their targeting, reflecting religious hostility and establishing a religious dimension to the offence. The perpetrators’ deliberate religious deception further strengthened this religious dimension. They concealed their Muslim identities and used Hindu names to gain entry to the gathering. By deliberately presenting themselves as Hindus, they sought access to a Hindu religious environment while concealing the fact that they did not belong to the religious community whose gathering they were entering. This was significant because the false identity was used to overcome the natural barrier that their actual identity would create and to obtain access and proximity to Hindu female devotees. The subsequent targeting of Hindu women after gaining such access demonstrated that the Hindu identity and religious character of the gathering were not incidental circumstances. The deliberate misuse of a Hindu identity to enter a Hindu religious space and then target its women demonstrated disregard for Hindu religious sentiments and added an element of religious hostility to the offence. The religious significance of the occasion further heightened the nature of the crime. Hartalika Teej is a major Hindu festival dedicated to Goddess Parvati and holds particular religious significance for Hindu women, who observe it through fasting, prayers, worship and other devotional practices. The Bhajan Sandhya was organised as part of these Hindu religious celebrations, bringing devotees together in a religious atmosphere centred on bhajans and worship. The perpetrators therefore did not target Hindu women in an ordinary public setting; they targeted them in the midst of a significant Hindu religious observance. The sexual harassment consequently also undermined the sanctity of the religious occasion and the place where devotees had gathered for worship. A space intended for bhajans, prayer and religious observance was turned into a setting for the harassment of Hindu women. Such conduct disrupted the devotional environment, caused distress to devotees and showed disregard for the sanctity of Hindu religious customs. The fact that the perpetrators had entered the gathering while concealing their identities further aggravated this violation, as the religious character of the gathering was deliberately exploited to facilitate their presence and conduct. The fact that similar incidents had occurred previously during Hartalika Teej and other Hindu festivals in Indore, where Muslim men posed as Hindus and entered Hindu religious gatherings to sexually harass Hindu women, showcased that the present incident was not isolated but part of a recurring pattern of targeting Hindu women under false identities. The repetition of such conduct against Hindu women made the pattern of religiously targeted sexual exploitation evident and further reinforced the indication of hostility towards the Hindu community. Taken together, the targeting of Hindu women at a Hindu religious gathering, the deliberate religious deception used to gain entry, and the exploitation of a sacred Hindu festival and religious space for sexual harassment demonstrated hostility towards the Hindu community and disregard for Hindu religious sentiments. These factors established the religiously motivated nature of the offence. Therefore, this case met the parameters of a religiously motivated hate crime and was added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker. 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 at '7'.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 5 to 10
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
