IAMC Weekly India Human Rights Monitor (June 4, 2026)
This Week at a Glance
This week, three Muslim men were killed across India within a span of five days. Eid Al-Adha celebrations across several states were marred by violence, arrests, and campaigns targeting Muslims, including protests over animal sacrifice in Mumbai, and criminal cases filed over Eid prayers and social media posts in Uttar Pradesh. In Meerut, police exposed a fabricated “love jihad” plot allegedly designed to extort Muslim youths, while separate incidents in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh saw two Muslim men lynched to death by mobs. A tribunal report documented ongoing attacks on Christians, including assaults on prayer meetings, social boycotts, and denial of burial rights across central and eastern India. Meanwhile, authorities demolished a historic mosque in Varanasi, a madrasa in Bahraich, and a Buddhist sanctuary in Maharashtra, while several legal and policing controversies, from alleged custodial abuse to wrongful prosecutions under UAPA, continued to raise concerns about the treatment of minorities and civil liberties.
Top Stories
Three Muslim Men Killed Across India Within Five Days
Three Muslim men were killed across India over a span of five days, between April 28th and June 1st. In Delhi, 26-year-old Arbaaz was stabbed to death by three minors during a quarrel on the day of Eid. In Bihar’s Siwan, 25-year-old Shahzad Ali was dragged from his home by a mob, tied to a tree, and beaten to death. Police acted after media pressure, eventually arresting five accused and suspending an officer who had failed to intervene. In Madhya Pradesh, 24-year-old Ali Khan was dragged off a train at midnight by a mob chanting religious slogans and beaten to death following a seat dispute with a man claiming ties to a right-wing group.
Arrests, and Intimidation Shadow Eid Al-Adha Celebrations Across India
This Eid Al-Adha, Muslim communities across India faced a wave of targeted harassment.In Mumbai, Hindu extremists brought a pig into a housing society to protest Muslim families keeping goats for sacrifice, pressuring officials to demolish the shed where the goats were kept. Similar protests erupted across Mumbai neighbourhoods. In Ghaziabad, a BJP Mayor posted a video alleging she had caught two Muslim children trying to dump cow meat into a river, after which police arrested three men linked to a local madrasa. In Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, 40 people including 15 named individuals were booked by police for offering prayers on a road outside an overcrowded Eidgah. Elsewhere, an elderly Muslim man in Meerut was arrested on Eid day for making critical remarks about UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
False “Love Jihad” Plots and Fake Meat Complaints Used to Target Muslims in Uttar Pradesh
In Meerut, a VHP-linked leader was arrested after allegedly orchestrating a fake “love jihad” trap against two Muslim youths, arranging for a woman to lure them under the pretence of seeking employment. Police later revealed the scheme was designed to extort money from the pair. In a separate incident, a man deliberately placed a stray packet of meat outside his own home and called police with a false complaint, sparking panic among villagers before CCTV footage exposed the deception.
Tribunal documents widespread violence against Christians in India
A tribunal report documented that across Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Odisha, Christians routinely face social boycotts, denial of burial rights, and forced exhumations, with 23 burial-related incidents recorded in 2025 alone.
In Chhattisgarh’s Bastar, a tribal Christian farmer and his family were repeatedly beaten, had their borewells destroyed, their crops looted, and were forced to permanently abandon their ancestral village after years of violent threats Hindu extremists demanding forced reconversion to Hinduism. In Sukma, over 25 Christians including a pastor and his pregnant wife were attacked by a mob that stormed their prayer meeting, leaving at least five people seriously injured.
Mosques, Madrasas, and a Buddhist Sanctuary Razed Across India
In Varanasi, a nearly 200-year-old mosque was demolished as part of a railway redevelopment project. A separate road-widening demolition drive in the city’s Dalmandi area has already razed over 60 buildings, with six mosques among the 181 structures earmarked for removal. In Bahraich, officials demolished a madrasa and several shops. In Maharashtra’s Kalyan, Buddhist monks lay before bulldozers to protect sacred statues as civic authorities demolished the decades-old Buddha Bhoomi Foundation complex.
Hate crimes and discrimination in India
This week, the Gujarat High Court declined to order an FIR in the alleged custodial death of 70-year-old Zaheer Shaikh. In Uttarakhand, residents alleged that authorities sealed the entire Jama Masjid Thano complex beyond what a court order permitted, a Muslim food vlogger in Muzaffarnagar, UP was arrested after a routine restaurant review reel that briefly showed a Shiva temple landmark triggered a Hindutva hate campaign; West Bengal’s new BJP government directed districts to establish detention holding centres targeting alleged Bangladeshi migrants and Rohingyas; a report raised serious questions about the UP police’s encounter killing of a 19-year-old named Asad; and on the judicial front, in separate cases reflecting the UAPA’s routine misuse, a Muslim man in Odisha was acquitted after over a decade in prison on terror charges, the Allahabad High Court granted bail to a roadside helmet vendor held since 2022 under UAPA, and a Delhi court rebuked police for holding a Muslim man in the Uttam Nagar violence case despite the charge sheet itself acknowledging he was arrested by mistaken identity.
Resistance & Organizing
Media Regulator Flags NDTV Broadcast and Aaj Tak Show for Misleading Narratives
The News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority (NBDSA) has cautioned NDTV over its use of the term “thook jihad” in a December 2024 broadcast concerning an alleged incident in Meerut involving a man falsely accused of spitting on rotis while preparing food. It has also pulled up Hindi news channel Aaj Tak for airing a programme hosted by journalist Sudhir Chaudhary that repeated debunked claims suggesting the Taj Mahal was once a Hindu temple.
Hind Rajab Foundation seeks arrest of Israeli reservist travelling in India
The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) has filed an urgent complaint with the police in India, the country’s Ministry of Home Affairs, and its Bureau of Immigration, demanding the immediate arrest of Eitan Gilboa, an Israeli national currently visiting Himachal Pradesh. HRF is a Belgium-based investigative organisation, which seeks legal action against individuals accused of war crimes in Gaza.
Defender of the Week
This week, we’re spotlighting a group of Muslim men who emerged as heroes for their extraordinary rescue efforts in the aftermath of the deadly hotel fire in Delhi’s Malviya Nagar that claimed 21 lives. Afzal, Mohammad Shah Rukh, Mohammad Aneesh, Mohammad Aamir and Mohammad Waseem repeatedly entered the burning building alongside emergency personnel to evacuate trapped guests, saving numerous lives despite the risk to their own. Nearby mattress shop owner Riyazuddin emptied his entire stock onto the street below to cushion people forced to jump from upper floors, reportedly sacrificing merchandise worth around ₹2 lakh and helping save at least 10 people. Local resident and hospital security officer Wasim Raza entered the smoke-filled structure multiple times and performed CPR on at least 10 victims, while volunteers including Mohammad Israr Khan and former fire trainer Mohammad Shoaib assisted in searching for survivors and evacuating the injured.
IAMC in Action
- IAMC welcomed the Supreme Court of India’s decision to grant six months’ interim bail to human rights activist Khalid Saifi and Tasleem Ahmed, both detained under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the 2020 protests against a discriminatory citizenship law in Delhi. Read our statement here.
What to Watch Next Week
- IAMC Minnesota Chapter will host an event titled “Community Resistance to Hate and Extremism” on Sunday, June 7, 2026, at the Islamic Center of Minnesota in Fridley. The programme will feature keynote speaker Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and guest of honor U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar, alongside state senators Jim Abeler, Zainab Mohamed, Omar Fateh, and Zarina Baber. The event will include panel discussions with community leaders and experts, with lunch at 1:30 PM and the main session beginning at 2:00 PM.
