Rights report documents 16 Muslim killings and 118 police shootings across India between August and October amid escalating anti-Muslim violence
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — At least 16 Muslims were killed by police, other state authorities and vigilante groups across India between August and October 2026, while more than 100 Muslim men were shot and wounded by police, according to a new report documenting escalating anti-Muslim violence and institutional discrimination.
The South Asia Justice Campaign’s India Persecution Tracker documented eight Muslim deaths involving state actors across six states, including three in police shootings and five in custody or prison. Another eight Muslims were killed by cow vigilantes and other non-state actors across four states.
The findings bring the number of Muslims killed by state actors this year to at least 27. Meanwhile, 2026 has already become the deadliest year for killings by non-state actors since the tracker began collecting data in January 2022.
Police violence concentrated in Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh, governed by Hindu nationalist Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, accounted for 103 of the 146 incidents documented during the three-month period.
Police shot and wounded at least 118 Muslim men nationwide in so-called “half-encounters,” including 105 in Uttar Pradesh. These involve police shooting suspects, frequently in the legs, before formal arrests. Most victims faced cattle-related accusations.
An Associated Press investigation separately found that nearly 93% of identified people shot by Uttar Pradesh police in suspected cow-smuggling cases since 2020 were Muslim.
Official police figures also revealed that Muslims accounted for 110 of 316 people killed in police encounters in Uttar Pradesh since 2017, despite comprising approximately 19% of the state’s population.
Hate speeches and political targeting
The report documented widespread assaults involving religious humiliation, including forcing Muslims to chant “Jai Shri Ram,” a Hindutva battle cry frequently used by Hindu extremists to intimidate and terrorize Muslims.
It also recorded 29 anti-Muslim hate speeches in Uttar Pradesh, including 13 delivered by Adityanath.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami were among other BJP leaders whose statements targeting Muslims were highlighted.
Disenfranchisement and displacement
The report raised concerns over electoral roll revisions that have removed more than 133 million names from draft voter lists nationwide since 2025.
In at least five states, coordinated objections were filed seeking the deletion of Muslim voters’ names, raising fears of systematic disenfranchisement.
The government’s discussions about introducing a nationwide National Register of Citizens have further intensified concerns about citizenship verification targeting Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Religious institutions also faced mounting pressure. At least six mosques were fully or partially demolished across four states in September.
In Assam, more than 1,100 families, predominantly Bengali-speaking Muslims, were evicted from three districts in October.
A separate investigation by The New Humanitarian documented 20,387 families displaced through at least 33 eviction operations in Assam since 2021.
The findings highlight how police violence, Hindu nationalist political rhetoric, citizenship measures and administrative actions are increasingly intersecting to threaten the security and constitutional rights of India’s Muslim minority.
MN
