Pahalgam and after: Tracking ‘retributive’ hate crimes against minorities across India

At least 26 people were killed in the picturesque Baisaran valley near Pahalgam in Anantnag district on April 22 in the deadliest terror attack targetting tourists in Kashmir in recent history. According to survivors’ accounts, three to four men in army fatigues descended from the dense Pine forests around 2 pm and fired indiscriminately at civilians enjoying their time in the lush meadows of what is popularly known as ‘Mini Switzerland’. 

Though there is at least one Muslim name in the list of casualties, multiple survivors’ accounts clearly show that the terrorists tried to single out non-Muslims among the tourists. The wife of slain Florida-based engineer Bitan Adhikari, Sohini, has told the media that the perpetrators asked Muslims to stand apart. When none responded, they fired randomly. A family member of the late Shubham Dwivedi, a 28-yr-old man from Kanpur who died in the attack, told India Today, “Bhaiya and bhabhi were eating Maggi, when two people in uniform came to them, and asked are you Muslim, if yes, then recite the Kalma.” When they did not give a satisfactory answer, the gunmen shot Shubham. 35-year-old engineer from Bengaluru Bharath Bhushan proudly told the terrorists he was a Hindu. He was shot in the head. Assam professor Debashish Bhattacharya knew Islamic scriptures. The 58-year-old Bengali Brahmin started reciting the Kalma when he saw the killers advancing towards him. It saved him.

Ever since April 22, several cases of targeted attacks against Muslims, especially Kashmiris, have been reported from various parts of India which have been described in the mainstream media and on social media platforms as retaliatory attacks. In this article, Alt News attempts to monitor, track and document such attacks. It includes only those incidents which we could independently verify. This tracker will be updated as and when we receive information about more such retributive hate crimes against minorities and Kashmiris, and are able to verify them. Readers can reach out to us on our WhatssApp helpline (7600011160) with information on such targetted attacks, if any.  

Dehradun, Uttarakhand/ April 23, 2025

Lalit Sharma from the Hindu Raksha Dal announced that members would go on rounds from 10 am on April 24, starting in Dehradun, and if they find a Kashmiri Muslim, then they would do treat them (treat, needless to say, here is an euphemism for targetted and /or assault). “We will not wait for the government to work… Kashmiri Muslims, you have time until 10 am tomorrow to leave from here, or else there will be an action taken against you that you can’t even imagine.” Lalit had uploaded the video from his official account and later deleted it. 

Hindu Raksha Dal workers also gathered outside the district magistrate’s office to issue open threats against Kashmiri Muslims in Uttarakhand. Lalit Sharma, who is also present, says, “If the entire Hindu community starts doing wrong things in the name of religion… as long as Islam exists here, these kinds of incidents will keep happening. Muslims commit such acts in Kashmir because they are in power there. Where they are weak, they don’t do such things…” He also discourages people from visiting Kashmir. A procession takes place with phrases like ‘Kashmiri mullon wapas jao” (Translation: Kashmiri Muslims, go back)

Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Kalyani, West Bengal/ April 24, 2025

A poster saying ‘Dogs & Muslims (Jihadi) Not Allowed!’ with hashtags like ‘#AllEyesOnPahalgam’ and ‘#TerrorismmeansIslam’ was pasted on a noticeboard at the university. Alt News spoke to a professor at the university who confirmed, on condition of anonymity, that this did indeed happen. It was pasted for some time and then torn off. However, photos of the poster had already started circulating in the meantime. The teacher remarked that this was a one-off incident and did not represent the university’s stance. He also mentioned that the university administration would take the initiative to combat such acts of hate. 

Click to view slideshow.

Kolkata, West Bengal/ April 24, 2025

A pregnant Muslim woman from Kolkata has alleged that she was denied treatment by her doctor on account of her faith.

The patient’s sister-in-law, Mehfuza Khatun, who wrote about this ordeal on Facebook, spoke to Alt News. The allegations are against Dr Champa Kali Sarkar. 

“We are Bengali Muslims. People cannot guess our religious identities just by knowing our first name, which is why Dr C K Sarkar had agreed to see my sister-in-law. But when the doctor got to know her full name at the clinic and realised she was Muslim, she went onto say that she wouldn’t see any Muslim patients.” Mehfuza alleges that the doctor told her sister-in-law that, “People from your religion are killing people from my religion.”

The doctor also allegedly said that the patient’s husband should also be killed by Hindus. “My sister-in-law returned home in shock. When she called up the doctor again, Dr Sarkar said similar things. She called us uneducated, murderers and ignorant.”

Mehfuza also informed us that after this incident went viral, Dr Sarkar sent a “dubious apology”, saying her relatives were among those killed in the recent terror attack in Pahalgam. “In another text, she asked us not to ‘harass’ her.” The family has filed a complaint with the police. 

Alt News reached out to Dr Sarkar over phone. She refused to comment.

Agra, Uttar Pradesh/ April 23, 2025

In the early hours of April 23, 27-year-old Gulfam was shot dead at Shahid Ali Chicken Biryani shop while his cousin, 25-year-old Saif Ali, sustained bullet injuries. Both of them worked at the restaurant located at Taj Nagari in Tajganj police station area of Agra.

Hours after the incident, a video emerged online showing two men armed with guns and knives claiming responsibility for the attack. They identified themselves as associated with the Kshatriya Gau Raksha Dal. Issuing an open threat against Muslims, the person speaking in the video stated they would kill 2,600 people in response to the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, which claimed 26 lives.

Saif Ali, while speaking to the media, said that the people seen in the video appeared to be the same ones who attacked him and Gulfam. In response to the viral video, Agra Police arrested a suspect, but called the video a publicity stunt and said that the Kshatriya Raksha Dal had no active presence in the area. Investigation into the alleged murder is still on, with authorities yet to arrest all the individuals involved. The claims made in the video raise serious concerns about the possibility of more hate crimes against Muslims in India, especially in light of the response to the Pahalgam attack, where terrorists specifically targeted non-Muslims.

Mohali, Punjab/ April 23, 2025

Kashmiri girl students of Rayat Bahra University have alleged that they were harassed by some locals while they were leaving the university on April 23 in Kharar area of Mohali. On returning to their PG acommodation in the evening, the girls were again confronted by the locals who knocked on their door and branded them as terrorists. The situation worsened when the attackers allegedly assaulted the girls, pulled their hair and twisted their arms. Fearing for their safety, the girls fled the spot without slippers and locked themselves in a room.

In response to the incident, Punjab NSUI president Isherpreet Singh, along with members of the Sikh community, met the Kashmiri girl students and assured them of safety. The Punjab State Women Commission has also taken suo motu cognizance of the matter, whose chairperson, Raj Gill, has written to the Mohali SSP, requesting an investigation into the matter. She stressed that a strict warning had been issued to anyone trying to harass the girls, stating that legal action would be taken against the perpetrators.

 

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