Hindus attacked over celebrating Mahashivratri, Muslims fire gun shots at Hindu devotees
Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh, India 
23 February, 2025
Case Summary
A violent altercation broke out in the Gwalathai region of Bilaspur district after members of the Muslim community attacked Hindus celebrating Mahashivratri outside a steel factory. Hindu leaders asserted that Muslims objected to the event and resorted to violence. they further said that the Muslims shot gunfire at Hindu devotees who had organised a bhandara on the occasion of Mahashivratri. During the clash, three people from both sides sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital for treatment. The Bilaspur police have filed cross FIRs in connection with the incident and launched an investigation. However, authorities have dismissed allegations of a communal dispute, stating that the conflict stemmed from local truck union tensions. They further stated that, based on preliminary findings, no evidence of gunfire had been discovered. According to media reports, members of the Hindu truck operators' union in the Naina Devi Assembly constituency had organised a bhandara on Mahashivratri when members of the Muslim community opposed the event, leading to an argument that soon escalated into violence. Vishva Hindu Parishad leader Kamal Goutaam alleged that the Muslim group launched a “murderous attack” on Hindu truck operators after they insisted on continuing the religious event. He further claimed that the attackers fired shots with the intent to kill. Among the injured were two Hindus, Hoshiar Singh and Chaman Singh, along with one Muslim individual. Chaman Kumar, one of the injured, confirmed that the altercation took place over the bhandara and that the attackers arrived in a Thar vehicle and physically assaulted Hindus. He also stated that gunfire was used during the attack. Vishva Hindu Parishad leader Kamal Goutaam had also taken to social media to narrate what transpired. He said that local Muslims in Illewal opposed the bhandara, asserting dominance over the area and vowing to prevent any Hindu religious event. When Hindus resisted, the attackers opened fire, injuring two individuals. Goutaam specifically named several Muslim men, including Ramzan Khan, Jogi Khan, Jagga Khan, Shammu Khan, Salim Khan, Kaku Khan, and Achharu Khan, as being responsible for the attack. He demanded a fair investigation and strict action against the accused while urging the Hindu community to remain united against such incidents. Superintendent of Police (SP) Bilaspur, Sandeep Dhawal, refuted claims that the incident was communal, maintaining that the dispute arose from truck union tensions rather than religious differences. He confirmed that cross FIRs had been registered, with the first being filed on the day of the incident and the second the following day. The police are currently reviewing CCTV footage to determine the sequence of events. Addressing the allegations of gunfire, SP Dhawal reiterated that no evidence had been found so far but assured that all claims were being investigated. He also warned of legal action against individuals spreading misinformation about the incident on social media. Meanwhile, Hindu leader Prashant K Ranjan criticised the police on Facebook, alleging that the authorities were reluctant to acknowledge the victims’ statements about gunfire. He asserted that their reports were based on eyewitness accounts and stated that the Hindu community would not be silenced over such injustices.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added as a hate crime under two categories of the Hinduphobia tracker. The first is- Attack not resulting in death. Within this, the first sub-category selected 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 sub-category selected under the above-mentioned category is- Attacked for crossing 'Muslim area'. One of the reasons that Hindus get attacked unprovoked specifically by Islamists is for crossing ‘Muslim areas’. Essentially, Muslim mobs often attack Hindus crossing or present in certain areas which have a majority Muslim population. It has often been cited as one of the reasons to blame Hindus for attacks against themselves, signalling that Hindus displaying religious symbols, taking our religious processions or crossing any area which is dominated by Muslim residents is a provocation in and of itself. These areas are mostly ghettoized areas where mobs mobilize quickly to attack Hindus for a variety of reasons like playing music during a religious procession, crossing a mosque, wearing a tilak or any other religious symbol in a Muslim-dominated area, praying at a local temple in that area etc. There have been cases where the few local Hindus of that area have been attacked on their way to the Temple for prayers as well, simply because the area is considered a Muslim-dominated area. Several times, it is entirely possible that the immediate trigger for the violence against Hindus was non-religious in nature, however, the violence became religiously motivated in nature because the area was Muslim dominated and the residents on the whole harboured animosity towards Hindus, evidenced from the actions of the mob, the slogans, and the nature of the attack. Such crimes are motivated by the religious identity of the victims and are therefore classified as hate crimes under this category. The third sub-category relevant here is- Communal clash. Communal clash is a form of collective violence that involves clashes between groups belonging to different religious identities. For a communal clash between Hindus and non-Hindus to qualify as a religiously motivated hate crime, the trigger of the violence itself would have to be anti-Hindu in essence. For example, if there is a Hindu religious procession that comes under attack from a non-Hindu mob and after the initial attack, Hindus retaliate in self-defence, leading to a communal clash between the two religious communities. While at a later stage, both communities are involved in the clash/violence, the initial trigger of the violence was by the non-Hindu mob against the Hindus and therefore, it could safely be termed as an anti-Hindu violence. Further, the trigger would also have to be religiously motivated. In the cited example, the attack by the non-Hindu mob was against religious processions and therefore, can be concluded to be religiously motivated. In some cases, the trigger may be non-religious, however, it develops into religious violence against Hindus at a later stage. In such cases too, the foundational animosity towards Hindus becomes the motivating factor of the crime and therefore, it would be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime against Hindus under this category. The second category relevant here is- Restriction/ban on Hindu religious practices and within this, the sub-category chosen is- Restriction on expression of Hindu identity. An example of the state-affected prejudicial and targeted orders against the Hindu community would be a government denying the right of a Hindu or a group of Hindus to hold a religious procession owing to the animosity of non-Hindu groups. Denial of the religious right of the Hindus to assuage the non-Hindu group which harbours animosity to a point where it could lead to violence against Hindus is not only a failure of law and order but is a prejudicial order against Hindus, denying them their fundamental rights to express their religious identity. An example of a hate crime against Hindus by a non-Hindu would be a non-Hindu institution forcing its Hindu employees to abandon religious symbols that a Hindu would wear as an expression of faith owing to inherent prejudice against the faith professed by the victim or a non-Hindu group of people restricting a Hindu group from constructing a place of worship simply because the demography of the area in which the temple is being built is dominated by non-Hindus. Such actions are driven by religious animosity and/or prejudice against Hindus and their faith and would therefore be categorized as a hate crime. The violent attack on Hindus celebrating Mahashivratri in Bilaspur district is a clear example of targeted hostility towards Hindu religious expression. The altercation began when members of the Muslim community objected to a bhandara being organised on the occasion of Mahashivratri, a significant Hindu festival. Their opposition quickly escalated into violence, with reports of physical assault and even gunfire being used against Hindu devotees. This incident reflects a disturbing pattern where Hindus are attacked simply for performing religious observances, highlighting an evident intent to suppress Hindu religious identity in certain areas. Moreover, the attack took place in a locality where Muslim influence was reportedly asserted to justify the disruption of the bhandara, suggesting a deliberate effort to intimidate Hindus from practicing their faith. Similar instances have been recorded where Hindus face aggression when entering or passing through areas dominated by another religious group, reinforcing a broader trend of hostility. The fact that the event was specifically opposed on religious grounds, rather than any logistical or legal reasoning, further confirms the religious nature of the attack. Although the police attempted to downplay the incident by attributing it to a truck union dispute, eyewitness accounts and statements from Hindu leaders suggest otherwise. Notably, the police, in many such cases, where the motive behind the crime is obvious but not explicitly mentioned, deny that the crime committed was in any way motivated by a religious bias or say that there was ‘no communal angle’ to the crime. Several factors are generally at play here. Many a time the police downplay incidents of low-level communal crime because it is their jurisdiction that comes under question. The police also often say that there was ‘no communal angle’ to a crime when there was one because they wish to ensure that owing to the crime already committed, there is no further flare-up in the area. Likewise, the Left media and the leftist elite are also inclined to emphasise this "no communal angle" trope, especially wherever the victim of the crime is a Hindu. However, only a police statement or a media report, for instance, cannot be enough to determine whether there is a communal angle present in the crime that has been committed. In fact, to determine whether the crime is communal in nature or not, we need to give emphasis to the ground realities. For example in the case of Rinku Sharma, the Bajrang Dal activist who was mercilessly stabbed in his house in front of his family members in Delhi’s Mangolpuri area in the year 2021, the leftist media and the leftist ecosystem had tried to peddle that there was no communal angle to the crime. Even the police denied that the crime was communal in nature. However, Opindia spoke to several people who are on the ground with the family of Rinku Sharma and we were told that the communal tension in the area is palpable. The family of Rinku Sharma has said that the Muslims of the area held a grudge against Rinku ever since he celebrated the Ram Mandir verdict Like the case of Rinku Sharma, those cases where even if the police have denied a communal angle or the leftist media have gone on an overdrive to peddle the ‘no communal angle’ trope, the ground reality, like the victim’s family or relative's testimonies, make it clear that there was an obvious religious bias that led to the crime, will be documented in this tracker. Going by the same logic, since the eyewitness and Hindu leaders testified that the attack on the Hindu devotees was deliberate and not accidental, this case has also been included in the hate tracker. It becomes important to highlight here that this was not a mere altercation between two groups but a deliberate attack rooted in religious intolerance. The opposition to the religious gathering, the reported use of firearms, and the injuries sustained by Hindu devotees point to a targeted attempt to disrupt a Hindu festival. Incidents like these are not isolated; they form part of a larger pattern where Hindus face resistance, and sometimes outright violence, when trying to observe their religious traditions. The effort to prevent Hindus from holding a peaceful bhandara reflects a deeper attempt to create an environment where Hindu religious expressions are met with hostility. Given these elements, this case stands as a stark example of aggression driven by religious animosity, warranting its documentation as an act of anti-Hindu violence in the Hinduphobia tracker. Disclaimer: The report highlights that several Muslims participated in the attack on Hindu devotees. However, since the VHP leader specifically identified seven individuals, the database currently records this figure as the official count of the accused, although the actual number is likely higher. The count will be updated accordingly as new information emerges.
Case Status
Complaint registered
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 5 to 10
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
