80-year-old Hindu woman allegedly raped, casteist slurs hurled by Muslim men; media outlets falsely link crime to Holi, hide religion of accused
Gopalganj, Bihar, India 
13 March, 2025
Case Summary
In the Gopalganj district of Bihar, an 80-year-old Hindu woman belonging to the Dalit community was raped and assaulted by a group of Muslim men. The main accused was identified as Chotte Alam, while the other accused were Syed Ali, Babudin, Shahabuddin, Saddam, Hashmat, and Jummadin. When the victim’s son confronted the accused, they abused him with casteist slurs and issued death threats. Although the Dalit woman was assaulted by Muslim men, several media outlets attempted to misrepresent the incident, linking it to Holi while concealing the religious identity of the accused. The Times of India, for instance, published a report on the case but omitted the names of the Muslim accused, instead insinuating that the attack took place during Holi celebrations. This, in a misleading way, implied that Hindu men celebrating Holi were responsible for the crime. The TOI report, titled “Elderly Dalit woman raped in Gopalganj during Holi”, stated, "An 80-year-old Dalit woman was allegedly raped in a village in Gopalganj district amid Holi on March 14." Similarly, ETV Bharat also suggested that the Dalit woman was raped during Holi celebrations while failing to mention the names of the Muslim accused. Meanwhile, an Islamist media outlet The Observer Post, also insinuated that the incident took place during Holi celebrations. Despite the details from the victim's complaint, Times Of India, ETV Bharat, and The Observer Post omitted the names of the Muslim accused while focusing on Holi and the casteist slurs hurled at the victim. This deliberate omission misled readers and gave a false impression that the casteist slurs and the crime were committed by ‘upper caste’ Hindu men celebrating Holi. Reportedly, the elderly woman had gone to a wheat field to cut grass when she was attacked and gagged by Chotte Alam, who then raped her. The accused also attempted to gouge out her eyes before fleeing the scene, believing she was dead. A young girl from the village later discovered the unconscious victim and informed her family. She was then taken home, and a doctor was called. It took 19 hours for her to regain consciousness, after which she narrated her ordeal to her family. The victim and her son went to confront one of the accused, Syed Ali, at his home. However, instead of showing remorse, Syed Ali, Babudin, Shahabuddin, Saddam, Hashmat, and Jummadin chased them away while hurling casteist slurs. According to the victim’s son, the accused abused them with derogatory remarks and issued death threats. He quoted them as saying, "S&la ch@m%&r siyaar, hamare darwaze par aa kar shikayat karne aa gya. Bhago nahi toh yahin ch@m&%r siyaar m@d&c^%d jaan se maar denge." Following these threats, the victim’s son lodged a police complaint against Chotte Alam, along with his four family members and two other accomplices who were present at the crime scene. According to the complaint, the accused had threatened the victim not to report the crime to anyone. The police registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the SC/ST Act. According to Aaj Tak's report, Sadar SDPO Abhay Kumar Ranjan stated that the victim was sent for a medical examination. The medical reports refuted the allegations of rape mentioned by the victim’s family. However, the report confirmed that she had been physically assaulted. The officer also confirmed the arrest of the main accused.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category- Hate speech against Hindus. Under this, the first 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. The second sub-category under which this case has been placed is- Anti Hindu subversion and prejudice and within this the tertiary categories selected are- 'Mislabelling/Misrepresentation of perpetrator's religion as Hindu' and 'Anti-Hindu Fake News or Downplaying'. Hate speech is defined as any speech, gesture, conduct, writing, or display that is prejudicial against a specific individual and/or group of people, which is leading to or may lead to violence, prejudicial action or hate against that individual and/or group. Media plays a specific and overarching reach in perpetuating prejudicial attitudes towards a community owing to unfair, untrue coverage and/or misrepresentation/misinterpretation, selective coverage and/or omission of facts of/pertaining to issues affecting a specific religious group. This type of bias can dehumanise the victim group, making it easier for others to justify harmful actions against them, which aligns with the objectives of hate speech laws aimed at preventing such harm. It is often observed that the media takes a prejudicial stand against the Hindu community driven by their need to shield the aggressor community which happens to be a numeric minority, however, is the one perpetrating violence against Hindus. For example, the media is often quick to contextualise religiously motivated crimes against Hindus, omit or misrepresent facts that point towards religiously motivated hate crimes, justify and/or downplay religiously motivated hate crimes or simply present fake news to stereotype Hindus. Such media bias leads to the denial of persecution and is often used to dehumanise Hindus, leading to justification for violence against them. For example, the media covered several fake allegations of Hindus targeting Muslims and forcing them to chant Jai Shree Ram. Most of these cases were proved false and fabricated after police investigation. These fake news reports were subsequently never retracted or clarified. Such fake news led to the justification of violence and dehumanisation of Hindus based on the argument that since Hindus targeted Muslims and forced them to chant Jai Shree Ram, the dehumanisation of Hindus and violence against them was par for the course and merely a retaliation. Such media bias leads to prejudicial portrayal of Hindus and offers a justification for violence against them and therefore, is considered hate speech under this category. Here, a Hindu woman was physically assaulted by a group of Muslim men. Even if we assume that religious motives did not initially drive the assault on the elderly Dalit Hindu woman, the subsequent events—particularly the use of caste-based slurs and the deliberate media misrepresentation—transform this case into a religiously motivated hate crime. The casteist abuse hurled at the victim’s son by the Muslim accused was not just an expression of caste-based discrimination, but a deliberate act of humiliation and intimidation directed at Hindus. Here, the victim's son confirmed that he and his mother were abused with caste slurs by the Muslim perpetrators when they went to confront one of the accused. It can be argued that a caste-specific slur is aimed at her micro identity of belonging to the Dalit section of the Hindu community and not her Hindu identity itself. However, as far as Abrahamic religions are concerned, the micro identities of caste, region, and language are secondary. It is the religious identity that drives the animosity of the perpetrator against the Hindu victim. In this case, while the Muslim accused hurled caste abuses at the victim and her son, the animosity was driven by his animosity towards Hinduism and Hindus. While the immediate trigger was the victim's son confronting the accused about the assault on his mother as mentioned in reports, the fact that caste slurs were hurled at the victim by the perpetrator makes it a religiously motivated hate crime against the victim. Additionally, the deliberate distortion of facts by major media outlets, such as The Times of India, ETV Bharat, and The Observer Post, solidifies the religiously motivated nature of this hate crime. By omitting the Muslim identity of the accused and instead falsely linking the crime to Holi, the media not only shielded the perpetrators but also subtly suggested that Hindu men celebrating Holi were responsible. This type of misrepresentation is not an isolated case—it is part of a larger trend where crimes committed by Muslims against Hindus are either downplayed, ignored, or misleadingly framed to vilify Hindus. Such systematic anti-Hindu subversion in media plays a significant role in distorting public perception and fueling animosity toward Hindus, making it a hate crime beyond just physical assault. Therefore, while the initial crime may have been opportunistic, the casteist abuse and media bias, proved that it ultimately became a religiously motivated hate crime aimed at demeaning and demonising Hindus. Consequently, this case has been added to the Hinduphobia tracker.
Victim Details
Total Victim
2
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 1
- Female 1
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 2
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 0
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 1
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 5 to 10
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
