Hindutva leader held over threatening video against Muslims in India

NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — Police in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh have arrested Pinky Chaudhary, a senior leader of the Hindu Raksha Dal, along with her son, after a video surfaced showing the public distribution of weapons and explicit threats against Muslims in a residential neighborhood near the national capital.

The arrests were made in Ghaziabad, an urban district bordering New Delhi, following the circulation of footage dated December 29, 2025, in which members of the Hindutva group are seen openly brandishing and handing out swords, axes, and other sharp weapons in a housing area. The video triggered widespread fear among local Muslim residents, many of whom described it as a direct intimidation campaign rather than a symbolic display.

Police records identify Pinky Chaudhary — also known as Bhupendra Chaudhary — as the organizer of the event and national president of the group. According to investigators, weapons were distributed to nearly 250 households, with participants filmed raising them in public while delivering incendiary speeches.

In the video, speakers urge recipients to keep weapons “for protection from jihadis” and invoke communal panic by referencing events in Bangladesh, warning that similar violence should not be allowed to “happen in India.” 

Rights groups say such rhetoric mirrors a broader Hindutva narrative that frames Muslims as an internal threat, legitimizing vigilantism and collective punishment.

Muslim residents in the area said the footage had an immediate chilling effect. Several families reported restricting children from leaving their homes, describing the atmosphere as one of deliberate terrorization.

“This was not about self-defense,” said one resident, “It was a message meant for us — that weapons are ready, and we are the target.”

Police officials confirmed that the language used in the video crossed criminal thresholds. A First Information Report (FIR) — a formal police complaint under Indian law — was registered on December 29, naming 16 individuals, including Pinky Chaudhary and her son, and listing 25 to 30 unidentified participants. Charges include rioting, rioting with deadly weapons, unlawful assembly, and provisions of India’s Criminal Law Amendment Act.

By December 30, police had arrested 10 individuals and recovered multiple swords during raids. Pinky Chaudhary and her son initially went into hiding, prompting searches across several locations before their arrest on Tuesday.

Civil rights advocates say the incident reflects a dangerous normalization of armed Hindutva vigilantism, often carried out openly and filmed for social media, with Muslims cast as enemies within.

Community leaders have urged authorities to pursue the case decisively, warning that failure to act firmly would embolden similar groups elsewhere.

Both accused are expected to be produced before a court, with police continuing efforts to identify all those involved in planning and executing the event.