Outrageous comments made on Hindu women devotees at Maha Kumbh 2025 by Muslim man

Case ID : f66451f | Location : Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Thu, 30 January, 2025
Case ID : f66451f
location Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India
date 30 January, 2025
Outrageous comments made on Hindu women devotees at Maha Kumbh 2025 by Muslim man
Hate speech against Hindus
Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith
Attack not resulting in death
Attack against Hindu devotees
Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

A Muslim man was arrested in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, for making derogatory remarks about women at the Maha Kumbh 2025. The accused, identified as Sabir Hussain from Mirganj, spread false information online, which led to public outrage. The police launched an investigation after a video of Hussain’s remarks went viral on social media. The content of the video falsely claimed that women were being stripped naked under the Yogi Adityanath government during the Maha Kumbh. The police confirmed that the statements were misleading and intended to spread communal discord. Following the investigation, a case was registered against Hussain under Section 353 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Mirganj police station. Inspector Yatendra Kumar, who filed the FIR, stated that the viral post had hurt the sentiments of the Hindu community, leading to significant anger among the public. The police launched a search operation to apprehend the accused. Circle Officer Anjani Kumar Tiwari confirmed that action would be taken against Hussain for spreading false information and attempting to disturb social harmony.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This instance has been added as a religiously motivated hate crime under two prime categories of the tracker. The first is- Attack not resulting in death. Under this, the first prime category 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. The second sub-category selected here is- Attack against Hindu devotees. Hindu devotees are a few of the easiest targets of religiously motivated hate crimes because during the festival/procession/puja etc, for non-Hindus it is easy to profile their victims on the basis of religion. Hindu devotees come under attack on several occasions by individual non-Hindus or mobs of non-Hindus owing to their animosity against Hinduism, its symbols and tradition/practices. There are several instances of Hindu devotees being attacked while they worship in temples or temporary religious structures, during religious processions, doing bhajan/kirtan/puja in their own homes, in the residential society etc. These attacks are perpetrated by non-Hindus primarily because of their animosity towards Hindus and their faith. In some cases, the trigger for the violence may be non-religious, however, there are two elements that make these hate crimes. First, the Hindus who come under attack are attacked violently while indulging in religious activity. Whether they are in a place of worship or not is immaterial to the crime. When individuals are attacked while indulging in religious practices, the attack in itself is a hindrance to their freedom to practice religion and therefore constitutes a hate crime. Secondly, religious supremacist doctrines and ideologies deem religious practices of Hindus to be offensive ab initio since they are considered “sinful” by these ideologies, worthy to be annihilated by force or coercion. Driven by these religious supremacist ideologies and doctrines, the attacks against Hindu devotees stem from intrinsic animosity towards Hinduism. In some cases, the trigger for the violence may be non-religious, however, it develops into a religiously motivated crime during the course of the violence. Since these attacks stem from animosity towards Hindus and Hinduism, they are considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. The second category under which this case has been placed is- Hate speech against Hindus. Under this, 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. This incident constitutes a religiously motivated hate crime as it specifically targets Hindu women, their religious identity, and their devotion to the Maha Kumbh. The accused, Sabir Hussain, deliberately spread false and inflammatory claims about women being stripped naked at the Maha Kumbh. This narrative was not only a blatant lie but was crafted to malign the sanctity of a revered Hindu pilgrimage and create fear, outrage, and division. By falsely portraying Hindu women as victims of humiliation within a sacred religious event, the act was intended to degrade their faith and devotion toward the Maha Kumbh and undermine the sanctity of the pilgrimage. The deliberate attempt to misrepresent a significant Hindu festival and its devotees reveals deep-seated animosity towards Hinduism and its followers and this is why this case has been added to the tracker.

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Case Status


Complaint registered

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Perpetrators Details

Perpetrators


Muslim Extremists

Perpetrators Range


One Person

Perpetrators Gender


male

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