“Sar Tan Se Juda” chants in Bhopal after interfaith couple hotel row; Radical threats against Hindu activists spark outrage

Videos from the Bhopal protest that surfaced online showed groups raising slogans such as “Nara-e-Takbeer” and “Allah-u-Akbar”, while several Islamists issued warnings and threats directed at members of Hindu organisations, particularly the Bajrang Dal.

NewsBharati    14-May-2026 11:42:39 AM
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Communal tensions intensified in Bhopal after large crowds gathered outside the Police Commissionerate and at Imami Gate, raising “Sar Tan Se Juda” slogans and issuing threats against Hindu activists following an alleged controversy involving an interfaith couple at a city hotel. Videos of provocative speeches, religious sloganeering, and open threats have triggered a major political and social debate in the state capital. 
 
A fresh communal controversy has erupted in Bhopal after hundreds of Islamists assembled outside the city Police Commissionerate shouting “Sar Tan Se Juda” slogans, a violent extremist call associated with threats against critics of Islam and Hindu activists in several past incidents across the country.
 
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The mobilisation reportedly took place after an Islamist, identified as Arif Khan, with a fake ID,  was caught with a Hindu woman. The duo were confronted by Hindu activists at a hotel in the Govindpura area after the activists found that the Islamist had allegedly concealed his identity while staying with the woman.
 
Videos from the protest that surfaced online showed groups raising slogans such as “Nara-e-Takbeer” and “Allah-u-Akbar”, while several Islamists issued warnings and threats directed at members of Hindu organisations, particularly the Bajrang Dal.
  
 
The protest gained further attention after allegations surfaced that leaders associated with All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), including state president Mohsin Ali Khan, addressed the gathering outside the Police Commissionerate.
 
 
According to videos circulated online, one speaker made aggressive remarks, warning Hindu activists of retaliation. In one widely shared speech, the speaker allegedly declared:
 
“Muslims of Bhopal will no longer tolerate them… We will drag them to the streets and lynch them… Wherever I find them, I will thrash them. I take full responsibility.”
 
 
The remarks were followed by loud religious chants from sections of the crowd.
  
Another video showed a man climbing atop a police barricade and shouting provocative slogans near police personnel, raising questions over the administration’s handling of the situation and the absence of immediate action despite the inflammatory atmosphere.
 
 
Apart from the Commissionerate protest, another large gathering was reportedly seen at Imami Gate, where crowds raised religious slogans late into the evening.
 
Residents and social media users expressed concern over the scale of the mobilisation and the openly confrontational rhetoric heard during the gathering. Several questioned whether authorities would have acted more swiftly had similar slogans been raised by groups from another community.
 
 
The use of “Sar Tan Se Juda” slogans particularly drew criticism because the phrase has repeatedly surfaced in cases linked to extremist violence and intimidation at the hands of Islamists in India in recent years.
  
 
What triggered the controversy?
 
The protests were triggered by an incident inside a hotel in Bhopal on Sunday evening.
 
According to reports, Hindu activists reached the hotel after receiving information that a Muslim man and a Hindu woman were staying there together allegedly under suspicious circumstances. Activists reportedly questioned the man over allegations that he had used a fake identity while interacting with the woman.
  
The confrontation escalated and videos later emerged showing the man being publicly humiliated before being handed over to police. His face was allegedly smeared with ink and cow dung during the altercation.
  
Police identified the man as 27-year-old Arif Khan from Jahangirabad.
 
 
At the police station, the woman reportedly stated that she had ‘willingly’ been in a relationship with Arif for several years and denied allegations of coercion or forced conversion. She also declined to file a complaint against him.
  
However, police investigations reportedly revealed that Arif Khan had multiple criminal cases registered against him, including cases related to fraud, theft and criminal breach of trust across various police stations in Bhopal.
 
Officials stated that several court cases against him are still pending.
 
  
It has also been reported that, on May 12, 2026, Bhopal police registered a case against various people, a day after videos showed a man being assaulted on allegations of ‘love jihad’. 
 





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