Violent Hindu mob demolishes shrine in India

NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — A violent mob linked to Hindu extremist outfits has demolished a small religious shrine in northern India, prompting renewed concern over minority safety and the enforcement of law after footage of the attack spread widely on social media.

The incident occurred on January 2 in Dehradun, the capital of India’s Uttarakhand state, a Himalayan region governed by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. The shrine was located in a residential area near the town of Rishikesh, a city internationally known for religious tourism.

Videos from the scene show a group of men using hammers and blunt objects to tear down the structure while shouting Hindu religious slogans and directing communal abuse at Muslims. Several voices can be heard threatening the family associated with the site and asserting numerical dominance, statements that rights advocates say amount to intimidation and mob coercion.

Local residents said the shrine stood on privately owned land belonging to a Hindu family and had been constructed as part of their personal religious practice. Despite repeated pleas from the family to stop, the mob proceeded with the demolition in full public view.

In the footage, individuals linked to the group are heard questioning why Hindus would venerate a Muslim saint, while others use derogatory language commonly associated with Islamophobic tropes in India, including references to conspiracy theories and communal slurs. Such language has been widely documented by rights organizations as markers of escalating hate speech targeting Muslims.

Witnesses said fear spread quickly as the demolition unfolded. Shopkeepers and neighbors reported being too intimidated to intervene, describing the group as aggressive, organized, and acting with apparent confidence that they would face no immediate consequences.

“The family kept asking them to stop,” one resident said. “But no one listened. The mob was loud, hostile, and threatening.”

Members of the group later claimed they were “liberating” the site, dismissing warnings from the family that destroying the shrine could have spiritual consequences. The justification echoed narratives frequently used by Hindu nationalist groups to target Muslim places of worship or shared religious sites, even when no legal dispute exists.

The demolition comes amid a broader climate of heightened communal tension in India. Civil rights advocates note that incidents of mob-led attacks on Muslim homes, mosques, shrines, and businesses have increased in recent years, often under the pretext of legality, land disputes, or religious purity.

Analysts also point to a pattern in which Hindu extremist groups operate openly, sometimes filming their actions, with little immediate intervention from authorities — a dynamic that has raised questions about selective law enforcement.

There has been no clear public statement confirming arrests or legal action against those seen participating in the demolition. Local residents and Muslim organizations have demanded accountability, asking why a mob was allowed to destroy private property in daylight without restraint.