In a chilling display of lawlessness and communal intimidation, a Hindu locality in Solapur was gripped by terror as an Islamist mob launched a violent assault on residents, particularly targeting Hindu women, media reports said. The incident, which unfolded in the Punjab Talim area, has sparked outrage and fear across the state.
The violence reportedly stemmed from a dispute over an illegal paan shop being operated by local Muslims near Punjab Talim. Residents had previously raised concerns with authorities, alleging that the shop had become a hotspot for anti-social elements who frequently harassed passersby and especially misbehaved with women in the vicinity.
Rather than legal resolution, what followed was an act of vengeance. According to eyewitness accounts, a mob of hundreds of radicalized individuals descended upon the nearby Hindu housing society. Armed with sticks and swords, they forcibly entered homes, assaulted women, molested them, and issued chilling threats of rape, murder, and arson.
Local accounts claim that women were not only physically beaten but also subjected to lewd behavior and threats of being burnt alive. Vehicles were vandalized, and stones were hurled indiscriminately at houses. Shockingly, several residents allege that the police either arrived late or acted with visible bias, siding with the assailants rather than the victims.
“This was not just violence; it was a message,” said a resident, visibly shaken. “They wanted to instill fear—especially among Hindu women—using intimidation and brutality.”
Hindu Women Assaulted, Molested, and Threatened by an Islamist mob in Maharashtra's Solapur.
— Treeni (@TheTreeni) May 26, 2025
In Solapur, Muslims were operating an illegal paan shop near Punjab Talim, but locals lodged a complaint against it because many miscreants frequented the shop and misbehaved with… pic.twitter.com/H3JXRJPbaN
While the incident has yet to receive the kind of widespread media attention such a grave episode warrants, social media is abuzz with videos and accounts from the ground, many of which point towards police inaction and deliberate targeting of Hindu community.
This is not an isolated case. Across parts of India, there is a growing pattern where communal provocation and violence often follow legitimate grievances raised by the Hindu community, particularly when it challenges illegal or disruptive activities allegedly carried out by some sections of the society that has ong
The Solapur violence stands as a stark reminder of the consequences of appeasement politics, unchecked radicalism, and broken law and order. In 2022, a man named Umesh Kolhe was murdered in broad daylight by Islamists reportedly for his support to Nupur Sharma, a former BJP spokesperson who was at the receiving end of Sar Tan Se Juda protests for her ‘audacity’ to quote from holiest Islamic scriptures.
If the state machinery fails to protect citizens in their own homes from sword-wielding mobs, it betrays the very idea of justice and civil order.
