Anti-Muslim abuses intensify in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh ahead of 2027 polls
Four killed, 70 shot and wounded, 152 detained and 34 properties demolished in two months
New Delh: A disturbing pattern of anti-Muslim violence and repression has intensified in India’s BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, with at least four Muslims killed in suspected hate crimes, 70 shot and wounded by police, 152 arbitrarily arrested or detained, and 34 Muslim properties demolished in just two months, according to a new report.
The South Asia Justice Campaign (SAJC) documented the incidents between August 1 and September 30 in the first edition of Election Watch: Uttar Pradesh, 2027, launched to monitor violations against minorities and threats to electoral integrity ahead of the state’s elections next year.
The four suspected hate-crime killings recorded during August and September brought the number of Muslims killed in such attacks in Uttar Pradesh this year to nine, already exceeding the seven documented during 2025.
Among those killed was a 20-year-old Muslim man who was beaten to death after some men objected to his cousin wearing a burqa. In another case, a Muslim schoolteacher was shot dead by a man who invoked “love jihad,” a Hindutva conspiracy theory alleging that Muslim men deliberately pursue Hindu women to convert them to Islam.
Police violence constituted another major category of abuses documented by the monitor. At least 70 Muslims were shot and wounded in so-called “half-encounters” across 27 of Uttar Pradesh’s 75 districts. Fifty-two of those shot were accused of cow slaughter or cattle theft.
Separately, a Muslim man was separately shot dead by police in Shamli on August 5.
SAJC also documented the arbitrary arrest or detention of at least 152 Muslims during the two-month period, including seven women detained in cases related to meat, as well as men jailed for allegedly criticizing Hindutva Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath online.
At least 16 other Muslims were assaulted in 14 separate incidents. One victim was a 12-year-old boy who was attacked after refusing to chant the Hindu slogan “Jai Shri Ram”. As per SAJC, no alleged attacker was reported arrested in any of those 14 cases, while police instead took action against victims in two incidents.
Anti-Muslim rhetoric from senior political figures accompanied the violence. SAJC documented at least 21 hate-speech incidents, 10 of them involving Yogi Adityanath.
Uttar Pradesh’s deputy chief minister separately claimed that anyone educated in a madrasa develops a mindset “like that of a terrorist,” while a state minister declared that “we do not need Muslim votes.” No action against any of officeholders was reported.
Authorities also demolished at least 34 Muslim homes, businesses and religious structures in nine separated demolition drives during the two-month period.
The findings paint a deeply concerning picture of the treatment of Muslims in Uttar Pradesh, where hate crimes, police violence, arbitrary detention, inflammatory rhetoric and demolitions are occurring alongside preparations for next year’s elections. The pattern raises serious concerns about the protection of minority rights, rule of law and the fairness of the electoral environment in the BJP-ruled state.
