NEW DELHI — At least 50 Muslims were killed in alleged extrajudicial incidents across India in 2025, including 23 deaths involving state security personnel and 27 linked to violence by Hindu extremist groups, according to data released by advocacy organisation South Asia Justice Campaign (SAJC).
The findings are drawn from SAJC’s India Persecution Tracker, which documents incidents involving police, armed forces and non-state actors. The group said two children were among those killed in incidents involving state authorities during the year.
The Tracker also recorded two cases in which Muslims died by suicide following alleged harassment or violence by Hindu extremist groups, and documented instances of arbitrary arrests, expulsions and forced returns of Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Jammu and Kashmir reported the highest number of such killings, with at least eight Muslim civilians killed during security operations, the report said. SAJC alleged that several of these incidents involved custodial torture, enforced disappearances and staged encounters, claims that security agencies have previously denied.
In Uttar Pradesh, at least six Muslims were killed in what police described as encounter shootings, the group said, adding that dozens of others were injured in similar incidents. Five additional deaths were reported in police custody or shortly after detention in four other states, with families alleging torture and denial of medical care.
The report cited the death of a one-and-a-half-month-old infant during a police raid in Rajasthan in March, and the killing of a 14-year-old boy by an off-duty Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) constable at a wedding procession in Delhi in November.
Of the 27 deaths attributed to Hindu extremist violence, SAJC said nine involved alleged attacks by cow vigilante groups. At least five victims were killed after assailants accused them of being Bangladeshi nationals or illegal immigrants.
The data also highlighted the impact of counterinsurgency operations on Indigenous Adivasi communities, particularly in Chhattisgarh, where security forces reported killing more than 275 Maoists in 2025. Rights groups have previously alleged that some of those killed were civilians, a claim disputed by authorities.
SAJC documented at least 26 episodes of targeted mass violence against Muslims across 13 states during the year, along with hundreds of individual assaults and non-fatal hate crimes.
According to the group, reported extrajudicial killings of Muslims by state actors rose from 20 in 2023 to 21 in 2024.
“As India enters 2026, the routinisation of persecution against religious minorities has become increasingly visible,” the report said, warning of heightened risks amid upcoming state elections.
