Hindu deities insulted in offensive social media post by Muslim man
Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, India 
21 May, 2025
Case Summary
In Marihan Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, a Muslim youth made an offensive post against Hindu deities on his X (formerly Twitter) handle. The police arrested him. The name of the perpetrator is Sonu Ali. He is a native of Malua village, located in Marihan tehsil of Mirzapur district in Uttar Pradesh. The complaint was received by Station Officer Jitendra Saroj from the Social Media Cell office. It stated that Sonu Ali Khan’s post could disturb religious harmony in the country. Upon investigation, the police found the post to be offensive. A case was registered under Sections 196, 299, and 167 of the BNS (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita). Following confirmation of the charges, the accused Sonu Ali was arrested. Station Officer Jitendra Saroj of Santnagar stated that the investigation is ongoing. Members of the Hindu community demanded strict action against the accused.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker un the primary category of - Hate Speech against Hindus. The sub-category selected is - Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith. Anti-Hindu slurs and the deliberate mocking of the Hindu faith owing to religious animosity involve the usage of derogatory terms, stereotypes, or offensive references to religious practices, symbols, or figures. One of the common anti-Hindu slurs used against Hindus is “cow-worshipper” and “cow piss drinker”. The intention of using this term is to demean and mock Hindus as a group and their religious beliefs since Hindus consider the cow holy. Additionally, some symbols and the slurs attached to them have a historical context that exacerbates the insult, hate, stereotyping, dehumanisation and oppression against Hindus. Cow worship has been used for centuries to denigrate Hindus, insult their faith and oppress Hindus specifically as a religious group. There has been overwhelming documentation about how cow slaughter has been used to persecute Hindus with cow meat being thrown in temples and places of worship. There has also been overwhelming documentation where cow meat (beef) has been force-fed to Hindus to either forcefully convert them to Islam or denigrate their faith. Apart from cow worship, the Swastika – which holds deep religious significance for the Hindus – has also been misinterpreted and distorted to use as a slur against Hindus. Similarly, the worship of the Shivling has been used by supremacist ideologies and religions to denigrate Hindus owing to religious animosity. Such slurs and denigration stem out of inherent animosity and hate towards Hindus and their faith, therefore, it is categorised as hate speech targeted at Hindus specifically owing to their religious identity. Here, a Muslim man named Sonu Ali made an offensive post against Hindu deities. Deities are an integral part of the Hindu religion. Any attempt to mock them is born out of animosity towards the Hindu religion. The content was specifically designed to mock the Hindu faith. The deliberate nature of the insult points to an effort not just to provoke and offend Hindus but to degrade the core beliefs of the Hindu religious community. Hence, this case is added to the tracker. Disclaimer: It is important to clarify that the report does not specify the exact date when the Muslim man posted an offensive post on X (formerly Twitter). Therefore, for documentation purposes, we have recorded the date based on when the incident was reported in the media.
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
