During a Hanuman Janmotsav event, far-right monk Madhuram Sharan Shiva, leader of the armed monks’ group Shiva Shakti Akhada, peddled the anti-Muslim conspiracy theory of “love jihad” and urged attendees to emulate Hanuman by setting fire to the homes of those he accused of kidnapping women instead of approaching the police, claiming that failure to act would allow such incidents to continue. He further alleged that many “Shurpanakha” are being born who fall into the trap of “love jihad,” blamed Hindus for becoming “dhongi” (imposter), and asserted that to save their religion, they must become brave and act as “dharm yodha.”