Three Hindu temple desecrated, meat thrown inside the sacred pace of worship
Aurangabad, Bihar, India 
30 June, 2023
Case Summary
In the Aurangabad district of Bihar, communal tension arose following an incident on July 1, 2023, where pieces of meat were thrown into three temples and a provocative poster was displayed at a local shop, threatening PM Modi, Amit Shah, and RSS members. Hindu organisations expressed dissatisfaction over the incident, prompting additional police deployment in the affected area. The police initiated an investigation and registered a case regarding the matter. The incident occurred in the Amjhar Sharif area, where pieces of meat were thrown at three religious sites in the Haspura market. Additionally, a piece of meat was thrown and a leaflet was affixed to businessman Kunal Kumar's shop, targeting political figures and local Hindu leaders, along with mentioning an organisation named Ahl Qureish. Amidst the inflammatory content, a message of support for Hasina Khatoon was included. Police intervention, including a flag march and cleaning of the religious sites, aimed to pacify the situation. An FIR was lodged by the police, who characterised the incident as the work of miscreants seeking to incite unrest.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
In Hinduism, a temple is the abode of the Deity. The Deity in the Temple is consecrated, thereby, making it a real, breathing entity. Hindus believe that not just the Deity but the temple premises itself are sacred to Hindus since Hindus hold the faith that the entire Temple space is an amalgamation of the divine energy of the deity. Given the central significance of Temples in Hindu Dharma, any attack against a Hindu Temple or its peripheral premises is an attack on the faith itself and is born out of animosity towards the faith, of which, the Temple is a central tenet. Any manner of attack against a Temple and/or its premises would therefore be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. In this case, despite understanding that Hindu temples are centres of worship and sanctity and introducing meat into these spaces is considered a violation of their sacredness, the perpetrator desecrated the premises by throwing meat inside the temple premises. Furthermore, it is important to mention here that though the last update was that the miscreants were unknown, regardless, the action stemmed out of hatred against Hinduism and resulted in the desecration of the sacred temple and would therefore be considered a religiously motivated hate crime.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Unknown
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
