Extrajudicial killings in India rose sharply in 2025, with at least 50 Muslim deaths reported by rights groups, highlighting violence by state actors and Hindu extremists across multiple states.
Extrajudicial Killings : Rights groups flag rising violence involving state forces and extremist groups, warning of a deepening crisis for religious minorities.
By Qalam Times News Network
New Delhi | January 12, 2026
Extrajudicial Killings of Muslims in India saw a sharp and alarming rise in 2025, with at least 50 such deaths recorded across the country, according to new findings compiled by the South Asia Justice Campaign (SAJC). The data reveals that 23 of these killings involved state actors, while 27 deaths were attributed to violence by Hindu extremist groups targeting victims because of their religious identity.
According to SAJC’s India Persecution Tracker, extrajudicial killings linked to police, armed forces, and other security agencies claimed the lives of 23 Muslims last year, including two children. The report also documented two cases in which Muslims died by suicide following sustained violence or harassment by Hindu extremists, underscoring the broader climate of fear and persecution.
The findings go beyond killings, detailing patterns of arbitrary arrests, mass expulsions, and refoulement of Bengali-speaking Muslims, along with other serious human rights violations. Jammu and Kashmir emerged as the worst-affected region, where at least eight Kashmiri Muslim civilians were killed during security operations. These incidents were accompanied by allegations of custodial torture, enforced disappearances, staged encounters, and systematic efforts to conceal wrongdoing.
Uttar Pradesh recorded at least six confirmed police “encounter” killings of Muslims in 2025. SAJC noted that dozens more were seriously injured in what it described as ongoing “half-encounter” shootings, where victims survived but suffered permanent disabilities. In four other states, at least five Muslims reportedly died either in police custody or shortly after detention, with families alleging torture and denial of timely medical treatment.
Several cases drew nationwide outrage. In March, a one-and-a-half-month-old Muslim infant was crushed to death during a police raid on her family’s home in Rajasthan. Later in November, Sahil Ansari, a 14-year-old boy, was fatally shot by an off-duty CISF constable during a wedding procession in Delhi.
Of the 27 Muslims killed by Hindu extremists, nine deaths were linked to organised cow vigilante groups or mob attacks triggered by allegations of cattle theft. At least five victims—including four Muslims and one Dalit—were murdered after being labelled “Bangladeshis” or “illegal immigrants,” reflecting what the report describes as a broader xenophobic campaign against Bengali-speaking Muslims.
The report also highlighted that Adivasi communities, particularly in Chhattisgarh, faced the deadliest year of counterinsurgency operations in recent memory. Security forces claimed to have killed more than 275 alleged Maoists in 2025, though rights groups allege many of those killed were Adivasi civilians.
In total, SAJC documented at least 26 incidents of targeted mass violence against Muslims across 13 states, alongside hundreds of individual assaults and non-fatal hate crimes motivated by religion. The data shows a steady upward trend: 21 extrajudicial killings by state actors were recorded in 2024, and 20 in 2023.
“As India enters 2026, the persecution of religious minorities has become disturbingly routine,” the report stated. It warned that with key state elections approaching, economic pressures mounting, and India’s global standing under strain, political incentives for further polarisation appear to be growing—placing minorities at even greater risk.
