Temple sevadars injured in stone pelting by Muslim mob: targeted for protecting sacred Hindu space

Case ID : ea348d9 | Location : Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Fri, 18 April, 2025

Case ID : ea348d9

Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

18 April, 2025

Temple sevadars injured in stone pelting by Muslim mob: targeted for protecting sacred Hindu space

Attack on Hindu religious representations

Attack on Temples

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim

Case Summary

A stone pelting incident occurred outside the Shri Balaji Dham temple located near the Ramlila ground, following a dispute over Muslim children playing cricket. When a ball entered the temple premises, the temple’s sevadars (volunteers) stepped out and asked the children not to play there. A verbal exchange followed, resulting in tension between the two groups. Later that night, at around 11 PM, a crowd of approximately 35 to 40 individuals gathered outside the temple. As per a report by 24ghanteonline, stones were hurled at the premises, during which two temple sevadars, Vijay Prajapati and Ansh Sharma, sustained injuries. Live Hindustan, however, reported that a minor sevadar named Mintu was injured in the stone-pelting incident. The situation escalated, drawing the attention of Bajrang Dal activists who arrived at the scene and protested the incident. Police personnel arrived shortly after being informed and assured the protesters that appropriate action would be taken. The unrest was eventually brought under control. Local leaders, including Municipality Chairman Vipin Garg, BJP Town President Arun Gupta, and former Bajrang Dal regional coordinator Vikas Tyagi, also reached the temple and urged for calm, assuring the sevadars and activists that the matter would be thoroughly investigated. The police initiated a probe into the incident.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category- Attack on Hindu religious representations. The sub-category relevant in this case is- Attack on Temples. 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. The other category relevant here is- Attack not resulting in death and within this, the sub-category selected is- Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim. In several cases, Hindus are attacked for opposing religiously motivated crimes being committed against a fellow Hindu or simply for voicing an opinion opposing radical elements, who either have in the past or continue to persecute Hindus. In such cases, the initial attack against the victim, against which the Hindu was trying to defend the victim, would also need to be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the initial crime itself was religiously motivated and the subsequent crime of attempting to save the victim or speaking against the radical elements ends up inviting a violent attack, it would also be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. This incident constitutes a clear act of anti-Hindu aggression, as it involved a targeted assault on a Hindu temple and its sevadars in response to a simple request to respect the sanctity of the religious premises. The temple volunteers had merely asked a group of children not to play cricket near the temple, yet this minor exchange was followed by a coordinated attack later that night by a Muslim mob of nearly 40 individuals. The deliberate act of stone pelting at the temple, particularly at a late hour, signifies an intent to intimidate and harm not just individuals but a religious site that holds spiritual importance for the local Hindu community. The two injured sevadars were harmed while trying to maintain order and protect the temple from desecration, making them direct victims of violence for upholding religious sanctity. The attack, therefore, reflects more than just personal animosity—it reveals an underlying animus toward Hindu religious representation and those who seek to defend it. Such aggression, masked as a reaction to a dispute, is rooted in an effort to undermine and assert dominance over the Hindu community by instilling fear and violating sacred space, and thus merits documentation as a religiously motivated hate crime. Disclaimer: The case mentions that between 35 to 40 Muslims launched an attack at the Temple and the Sevadars, however, the exact number of people who attacked is unknown. For documentation purposes, we conservatively recorded the accused count as 35 in the database for accuracy and consistency.