Hindutva mob attacks mosque during Holi celebration in Maharashtra

Shocking visuals of mayhem outside a mosque by a Hindutva mob in Maharashtra surfaced on social media, showing participants in the Shigma festival procession raising Hindu slogans and allegedly ramming the gates of a Muslim place of worship with a wooden trunk during Taraweeh prayers.

The incident of mob harassment against Muslims took place in Ratnagiri’s Rajapur village, where scores of Hindus carried out the annual Shimga procession, a tradition in the Konkan region, on Wednesday (March 12, 2025).

Several videos of the incident went viral online, showing a large crowd tossing a wooden trunk, raising Hindu slogans, and throwing gulal at the mosque.

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The mob gathered at 7:30 pm in the village’s Jawahar Chowk and took the procession toward the mosque while carrying a tree trunk known as Madachi Miravnuk.

In a viral clip, the mob can be seen ramming the gates of the mosque with the trunk as Muslim worshippers stood at the doorstep.

Those inside the mosque pushed back the mob and closed the gates.

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However, Indian police labeled the video as misleading and denied reports of any forcible entry into the mosque.

A First Information Report (FIR) was registered for sloganeering and unlawful assembly, while local Muslim leaders demanded strict action. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) also criticised the BJP-led Maharashtra government.

The Hindu quoted eyewitnesses confirming that the incident of gate ramming took place.

They stated that, as per tradition, the Shimga festival procession halts at the mosque’s doorstep to honor the goddess Nina, a custom followed for years.

However, this time, the participants aggressively attacked the mosque’s gates with the trunk and engaged in provocative sloganeering and unruly acts targeting the local Muslim community.