Hindu minor girl assaulted by Muslim couple for chanting Jai Shri Ram

Case ID : f664721 | Location : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India | Date of Incident : Sat, 15 February, 2025

Case ID : f664721

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

15 February, 2025

Hindu minor girl assaulted by Muslim couple for chanting Jai Shri Ram

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Hate speech against Hindus

Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith

Case Summary

On 16th February, a minor Hindu girl was assaulted by a Muslim man, Sameer Khan, and his wife, Sonali Das, after they became enraged over the chants of Jai Shri Ram. The girl, who is associated with the Hindu organisation Durga Vahini, was attacked by the couple after her students sang bhajans and chanted Jai Shri Ram during the free tuition classes she conducts for children in the area. Following the assault, Bajrang Dal activists arrived at Vakola police station to support the minor in filing an FIR, but instead of receiving assistance, they were beaten up by police officials. The activists were assaulted again after they protested outside the police station against the misconduct. The incident led to the suspension of the police officers involved in the assault.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under two primary categories. The first is- Attack not resulting in death. Under this, the sub-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 prime 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. In this case, the assault on the minor Hindu girl was directly triggered by the chanting of "Jai Shri Ram" and the singing of bhajans, both of which are expressions of Hindu faith. The violent reaction from Sameer Khan and his wife, Sonali Das, highlights an intolerance towards Hindu religious practices, making it an instance of religiously motivated aggression. Furthermore, the police brutality against Bajrang Dal activists, who came forward to support the victim, further reinforces the systemic bias and institutionalised hostility that Hindus often face when trying to seek justice. The fact that the police resorted to physical violence rather than addressing the assault against the minor suggests an attempt to suppress Hindu voices and deter resistance against such incidents. Given these strong religious markers, this case has been added to the Hinduphobia tracker.