Anti-Muslim graffiti on NH: Hindu Raksha Dal member says Muslims are ‘tenants’ in India, should live like that

On the intervening night of February 26 and 27, women associated with the Hindu Raksha Dal (HRD) spray-painted communal slogans on a crash barrier along the Delhi–Dehradun National Highway in Uttar Pradesh. The graffiti read “मुसलमान के लिए रोड नहीं है” (“This road is not for Muslims”) in Hindi and “This Road Not Allow Muslim” in English.

A couple of days after the video sparked widespread outrage, the women vociferously defended their act in an interview with a BBC journalist and asserted that this country was theirs and they could do anything they wanted; Muslims were tenants in India and they should live like that, they stated.

Two women — one dressed in green, the other in beige with an orange scarf — were seen spray-painting, while a man in white appeared briefly towards the end of the clip. A red Swift Dzire bearing a Uttarakhand number plate was also visible. As the video was recorded, a woman could be heard chanting ‘Jai Sri Ram’ in the background.

Hindu Raksha Dal chief Pinky Chaudhary shared the video, claiming the message was directed at “jihadis” and asserting, without evidence, that only Hindus pay taxes in India. “What the workers of the Hindu Raksha Dal wrote on the national highway was correct because the roads are built only from the taxes of Hindus. These ‘jihadi’ people do not pay taxes, so they have no right to use the national highway. Muslims will not be allowed to travel on the national highway,” he wrote in an Instagram caption.

Doubling down, Chaudhary reiterated the claims in a video statement laced with communal rhetoric. “People should know what percentage of Muslims live in India and how much tax they pay. The government should be concerned that these ‘jihadis’ are enjoying the benefits of our taxes. Donations from temples go to the government, but how much comes from mosques and madrasas? Money flows from temples, but the benefits are taken by these jihadis. We will not tolerate this. Muslims should be denied government benefits. We pay taxes. Governments are formed by Hindu votes, yet all the benefits go to Muslims,” he said.

In #UttarPradesh‘s #Ghaziabad, a message reading “Road Not for Muslims” was allegedly painted on a National Highway by members of the Hindu Raksha Dal (HRD), triggering controversy.

HRD president #PinkyChaudhary, in a statement, claimed that those he referred to as “jihadis” do… pic.twitter.com/1z5kxsebqq

— Hate Detector 🔍 (@HateDetectors) February 27, 2026

Alt News spoke to Saharanpur (Rural) SP Sagar Jain, who confirmed that an FIR had been registered the following morning, on February 27. “An application was received from an NHAI official, based on which we registered an FIR against some Hindu Raksha Dal workers. We are working to identify the perpetrators through CCTV footage. Once identified, appropriate action will follow,” he said.

The FIR has been registered under Section 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which criminalises the publication or circulation of false information, rumours, or alarming content intended to incite enmity, hatred, or ill will between religious, racial, linguistic, regional groups, or castes. The offence is cognizable and non-bailable.

The NHAI official has been identified as one Sunil Kumar by The Times of India.

A day after the video went viral BBC journalist Dilnawaz Pasha spoke to two women who were reportedly involved in writing the hateful graffiti. One of them identified herself as Shraddha Singh, the district chief of the Hindu Raksha Dal. Both the women remained defiant about their actions.

“Yes, we spray-painted that graffiti… Muslims do not pay taxes,” Shraddha said. When told that Muslims paid taxes including indirect ones like GST, Singh replied, “Hindus also do it. They work hard, pay taxes… Muslims do not pay taxes.” Singh reiterated that she wasn’t scared of disrupting communal harmony and could do whatever they wanted because the country was “theirs” — “Whoever doesn’t like it can go to Pakistan…”

“Muslims are tenants; they should live like that. They should not be allowed to do anything,” said the other woman. Stating that she wasn’t scared of FIRs, she said that she would continue to do the ‘right thing’ and Hindu Raksha Dal would back them up. “This country is ours, we can do whatever we want,” she said.

When the journalist, who is himself a Muslim, pointed out that he would have to use the same highway to return home, she replied, “You can go from below. Make your own road and go from below.”

 

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