Muslim man who defecated inside Hindu temple in Hyderabad dubbed as ‘mentally unsound’: List of cases where similar alibi has been used to whitewash hate crime and Hinduphobia

On Saturday (10th January) night, a Muslim man identified as Altaf barged into the premises of the Katta Maisamma Temple in Telangana’s Hyderabad and defecated near the idol of the deity. The incident sparked outrage among the Hindu community after the video of the temple desecration went viral on social media. After the accused was apprehended and handed over to the police, the 26-year-old Muslim man was dubbed ‘mentally unsound’ by the law enforcement authorities of the Congress-ruled State. A Muslim boy was caught urinating infront of Devi temple in Malkajgiri, Hyderabad.No Hindu engages in such disgraceful acts because Hinduism does not believe in the destruction or humiliation of non-Hindus.The hostility displayed toward the majority reflects the constant… pic.twitter.com/NTFXux3tqG— Sarvagraharoopini (@GurorangriPadme) January 10, 2026 This is not a new phenomenon. Whenever an accused belonging to the Muslim community defiles a Hindu place of worship, he is quickly branded ‘mentally unsound’ or ‘mentally unstable’ either by the police force of a minority-appeasing government or by a concerted group of intellectuals online. In this way, the accused, by virtue of his faith, gets a clean chit and the motivated religious hatred against other communities is conveniently whitewashed. But this begs the question – Why does a ‘mentally unsound’ Muslim man rarely desecrate a mosque or a dargah? How does he automatically know about committing blasphemous acts against idol worshippers? A series of incidents in which mentally unstable Muslim men have desecrated Hindu idols and temples On Friday (9th January), a 55 year-old Ahmed Sheikh was taken into custody after he attempted to offer Namaz inside the sacred Ram temple. According to reports, he barged into the high security premises and began preparing to desecrate the holy site. He was soon apprehended and handed over to the place. After being caught, he reportedly raised Islamic slogans inside the Ram Mandir complex. Later, his family claimed that he was ‘mentally ill’. Kashmiri Muslim Ahmad Sheikh entered Shri Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and attempted to do Namaz inside the premises Hightime, non-Hindus must be banned from entering Ram Mandir pic.twitter.com/TTKEZPnYfa— Shashank Shekhar Jha (@shashank_ssj) January 10, 2026 In March 2025, a Muslim man named Sheikh Indu vandalised the idol of Goddess Shitala and then set it on fire. The incident occurred in Baruipur city in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. Visuals of charred idols and the damaged Hindu temple could be seen in multiple posts on social media. The locals were able to apprehend the accused, Sheikh Indu, who was involved in the vandalism and arson attack. The Baruipur police posted a tweet claiming that the accused is a ‘person of unsound mind’ with ‘mental health issues.’ Screengrab of the tweet by the Baruipur police “Local people apprehended him and police took custody of the person. A case has been registered and investigation is on. The detained person is an outsider and has mental health issues,” it alleged. A few days later, BJP leader Dilip Ghosh took to X (formerly Twitter) to inform about the attack on a Kali temple and the vandalism of the idol of the Hindu deity. The incident occurred in Shankchura Bazar in Basirhat city in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. The BJP leader stated that the attack on the temple took place under the leadership of local TMC politician Shahanoor Mondal. Screengrab of the tweets by the Basirhat police district Hours later, the West Bengal Police took to social media to claim that there was ‘no communal angle’ behind the heinous crime. The cops went on to claim that the extremist behind the vandalism of the idol of Goddess Kali has ‘mental health issues.’ In November 2023, a Muslim man named Ara Sheikh was caught on camera in which he can be seen entering a Hindu temple and urinating near the Shivling. The incident occured in Kandar village in Murshidabad district of West Bengal. The video of his shameful act left the internet fuming and sparked massive outrage, with the Hindu community demanding strict action against the perpetrator. In April 2022, a Muslim man named Ahmed Murtaza Abbasi laid siege to the Goraknath temple in Uttar Pradesh. Armed with a sharp knife, he screamed Allah hu Akbar before attempting to barge into the temple premises. When the police deployed at the Hindu place of worship attempted to stop him, he severely injured 2 personnel using his weapon. It was later revealed that Abbasi had taken an oath of allegiance to the ISIS. He used to read online articles, watch videos related to weapons such as AK-47 rifle, M4 Carbine, missile technology etc with the intention to carry out terror attacks. L- Murtaza Ahmed Abbasi attacked PAC Jawans at Gorakhnath Temple.He did Chemical Engineering from IIT Mumbai. Has links with ISIS R- H