Muslim girl assaulted by Hindu pilgrims in India; police arrest her family, not attackers

NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — A 16-year-old Muslim girl was physically assaulted by a group of Hindu religious pilgrims in the northern Indian city of Varanasi, but instead of arresting the assailants, police charged members of her own family—deepening concerns over growing impunity for Hindu extremists and state-backed targeting of Muslims.

The assault occurred on July 28, when the girl was visiting her brother’s footwear shop with her grandmother. According to her family, a group of Hindu men participating in an annual religious pilgrimage called the Kanwar Yatra stormed into the shop, hurled obscene slurs, groped the teenager, and exposed themselves to her.

When she resisted and tried to flee, the men chased her with sticks—one even forcing his way into her home moments after she entered it.

Witnesses pulled the intruder out and allegedly beat him, but within minutes, a larger crowd of Hindu men descended on the neighborhood. 

Locals say they were joined by members of far-right Hindu groups and blocked roads for over four hours while chanting “Jai Shri Ram”—a slogan increasingly weaponized in anti-Muslim attacks across India. Armed with rods and sticks, the mob reportedly left the area’s Muslim residents feeling cornered and terrified.

Instead of responding to the assault, police detained several Muslims—including elderly members of the girl’s family—and later filed criminal charges against seven residents from the Muslim community. No charges were filed against the men accused of sexual assault, and none have been arrested.

Among the charges levelled against the Muslim victims are serious criminal offenses under India’s newly enacted criminal law, including rioting, armed assault, and criminal intimidation. 

In a move denounced as baseless and vindictive, authorities also invoked an anti-conversion law, accusing the Muslim residents of attempting to forcibly convert the Hindu attacker to Islam—despite no evidence and no such claim from the alleged perpetrators.

The girl’s family has submitted a complaint to the National Human Rights Commission and shared CCTV footage showing the teenager running in distress while a man in saffron clothes chased her with a stick, followed by others.

“Instead of protecting a minor girl who was attacked, the police came to our house, dragged away my relatives, and threatened local shopkeepers who supported us,” a family member told independent news outlet The Wire. “They even brought a bulldozer and parked it in our lane.”

The bulldozer—widely seen as a symbol of state intimidation under the Hindu nationalist government of Uttar Pradesh—was not used, but residents believe it was meant to send a message. Similar demolitions targeting Muslim homes and businesses have become common in recent years following communal incidents.

Officials continue to deny wrongdoing. Assistant Commissioner of Police Ajay Kumar Srivastav dismissed the girl’s account as “100% wrong” before claiming the case would be investigated.

Three days later, the neighborhood remains heavily militarized, with police, paramilitary forces, and Hindu religious processions still dominating the area. Civil rights advocates say the case underscores a broader pattern: Hindu mobs are protected, while Muslim victims face criminalization, harassment, and collective punishment.