IAMC Weekly India Human Rights Monitor (July 9, 2026)

This Week at a Glance 

This week, UN Special Rapporteurs raised concerns over India’s mass voter deletions under the SIR exercise and sought answers from the government. A Muslim cattle herder was lynched by cow vigilantes in West Bengal’s Cooch Behar, while another Muslim man died in police custody in the state. In Bihar, a viral video showed a Hindu mob forcing a Muslim woman to remove her niqab and compelling her Hindu friend to apply sindoor on her forehead. Across Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Hyderabad, Muslim men continued to face mob violence, including being forced to chant “Jai Sri Ram” and bow before a calf. An aide of Yati Narsinghanand called for the annihilation of Muslims at a Hindu Mahapanchayat, and Maharashtra ordered a statewide audit of church-owned land. On the judicial front, Delhi courts denied bail to anti-CAA activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and Athar Khan after six years in jail, while the Gujarat High Court upheld death sentences for 38 convicts in the 2008 Ahmedabad blasts case.

 

Top Stories

UN Special Rapporteurs raise concerns over mass voter deletions linked to SIR

UN Special Rapporteurs have raised concerns over the mass deletion of voters from India’s electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise and sought answers from the Indian government. The intervention comes as the SIR, which has removed nearly 60 Million names from voter lists nationwide, faces mounting criticism over allegations of disproportionately targeting Muslim voters and marginalized communities.

 

 

 

Muslim cattle herder lynched in West Bengal; another Muslim man dies in police custody

In West Bengal’s Cooch Behar district, a 52-year-old Muslim cattle handler, Montu Mia, was allegedly killed by Hindu extremist cow vigilantes while transporting a cow. The family alleged he was intercepted and beaten to death by a group of self-styled cow vigilantes. In a separate incident, a Muslim man arrested on suspicion of cattle smuggling died in police custody in West Bengal, with a rights group demanding accountability.

 

 

Hindu mob forces Muslim woman to remove niqab; Muslims assaulted across multiple states

A video from Bihar’s Nawada district showed a group of Hindutva supporters stopping a Muslim woman who was with a Hindu man, forcing her to remove her niqab, and then compelling the man to apply sindoor on her forehead. In Rajasthan’s Beawar, Muslim labourers alleged they were abducted and assaulted and forced to chant “Jai Shri Ram” after demanding their wages. An elderly Muslim man in Bihar was humiliated over beef suspicion. In Hyderabad, a Muslim youth was seriously injured in an assault. In UP’s Barabanki, a Muslim youth was forced to bow before a calf by cow vigilantes. In Bihar, the family of a Muslim cloth vendor rejected the police’s accident theory after his body was found with bruises, fractures and burn marks.

 

 

Narsinghanand’s aide calls for annihilation of Muslims at Hindu Mahapanchayat

An aide of hate preacher Yati Narsinghanand called for the “annihilation of Muslims” during a Hindu Mahapanchayat. The remarks follow a recent incident in which Narsinghanand himself backed a separate call for the massacre of Muslims. Despite repeated instances of open incitement to genocide, Narsinghanand and his associates continue to operate freely.

 

 

 

 

Maharashtra orders statewide audit of land owned by churches and missionary groups

Amid a broader climate of escalating Hindutva attacks on Christians, the Maharashtra government has ordered a comprehensive three-month investigation into all land parcels held by Christian missionary institutions across the state. They also announced plans to enact a “strict anti-conversion law” in the state and instructed officials to probe “unauthorized churches” in the predominantly tribal Dhule-Nandurbar region and “demolish them in six months.”

 

 

Hate crimes and discrimination in India

This week, the Delhi High Court granted bail to two former PFI members, citing lack of prima facie evidence and prolonged custody. In contrast, the Gujarat High Court upheld the death penalty for 38 convicts in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts case. Anti-CAA activist Athar Khan, who completed six years in jail, was denied bail by the Delhi High Court in a UAPA case. In the same larger conspiracy case, a Delhi court dismissed the bail pleas of Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, who have also spent six years in jail. The Gujarat High Court called the Surat demolition that left 100 families homeless “illegal” and ordered rehabilitation. A new Bollywood film was criticized for recasting mass blindings as heroism in what experts called a new turn in anti-Kashmiri propaganda. In Uttarakhand, officials bulldozed a shrine in Jaspur citing encroachment, and a Muslim teacher was harassed by Bajrang Dal members over an Arabic class held at a private home.

 

Resistance & Organizing

Indian authorities bring back Bengali Muslims arbitrarily expelled to Bangladesh

Indian authorities brought back Bengali Muslims, including children, who had been arbitrarily expelled to Bangladesh last year. The development follows international pressure, including a Human Rights Watch report documenting the unlawful expulsion of ethnic Bengali residents by the Border Security Force. Meanwhile, the Karnataka High Court stayed the deportation of a Muslim man who had been accused of being an illegal Bangladeshi immigrant.

 

 

 

 

 

Mumbai cyber collective uses open-source intelligence to fight anti-Muslim hate online

A report profiled how a Mumbai-based cyber collective, ADL Front, is using open-source intelligence (OSINT) techniques to identify, document and report organized anti-Muslim hate campaigns online, working to hold platforms and perpetrators accountable.

 

 

 

 

 

Defender of the Week

This week, we’re spotlighting Athar Khan, a former call centre employee turned anti-CAA activist, who completed six years in prison, without charges being framed against him. Khan was arrested in July 2020 and booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) as part of the “larger conspiracy” case related to the 2020 Delhi violence, alongside Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Khalid Saifi and other activists who had organized protests against the discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act. This week, the Delhi High Court denied his bail, with his legal team arguing that no weapons or incriminating material had been recovered from him and that the WhatsApp chats relied upon by the prosecution only reflected discussions about peaceful protests.

 

What to Watch Next Week

• IAMC will be participating in the ICNA West Convention 2026 on July 11–12 at the Santa Clara Convention Center, CA (Booth D44). The event will feature a panel discussion with Zeba Warsi, foreign affairs journalist and PBS NewsHour correspondent, followed by her talk on “Democratic backsliding in India.” Reach out to IAMC for a special 50% discount code for the first 100 tickets.