Altaf poses as Akash to trap a married Hindu woman, rapes her, blackmails her with videos to force conversion to Islam, threatens to rape her 4-year-old daughter when she refuses
Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, India 
1 September, 2024
Case Summary
In Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad district, a Hindu woman filed a case against Altaf who pretended to be a Hindu named Akash to lure her into a relationship. The accused sexually exploited her under his false identity and then started pressuring the victim to convert to Islam. Upon refusing, he threatened to rape the married woman's four-year-old daughter. According to the victim, who resides in the Linepar area, she met Altaf during her travels to Amroha for work. "Akash" befriended her by hiding his true identity. He also gave her false hopes of marriage in order to have physical relations with her; which he used to secretly record. Once his identity was revealed, Altaf used the private videos to blackmail her. He threatened to release the videos online if she did not leave her husband and live with him. Altaf also forced her to wear a burqa, eat meat, and perform namaz five times daily. When she resisted, he physically assaulted her. On September 2, 2024, Altaf went to the victim's house and gave her an ultimatum to convert to Islam. He removed her four-year-old daughter's clothes and threatened to rape her if she did not comply with his demands. The victim, terrified for her daughter’s safety, managed to flee and reported the incident to the police. The Moradabad police arrested Altaf under various sections of the IPC and POCSO Act.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been placed in the hate tracker under four sub-categories within the prime category- Hate crimes against women in relationships and sexual crimes. The first is- man pretends to be Hindu- When a non-Hindu man pretends to be a Hindu to deceive a Hindu woman into a relationship, the act is seen as triggered by malafide intentions. In some cases, the woman eventually accepts the man’s original religious identity and converts after the man’s identity is revealed. These cases could be argued as cases of religious brainwashing and a result of the pressure a woman feels after getting into a relationship with a man. The woman, it can be argued, also changed her religious identity because of the stigma she believes she might face if she chooses to walk out of a deceptive relationship. However, for the purpose of documenting hate crimes, the cases in this subcategory are limited to those where there is explicit violence aimed at religious conversion against the wishes of the victim (force-feeding beef, blackmailing with intimate videos, rape on refusal to convert, etc), or if the woman herself complains of the man’s religious deception. In such cases, it is established that the deception of the non-Hindu man had a specific aim of religious conversion or targeting of the victim due to her Hindu religious identity, therefore, making it a religiously motivated hate crime. The second sub-category selected here is- forced conversion before marriage and within this three tertiary categories, namely 'Forced to wear Hijab', 'Forced to follow non-Hindu religious practices' and 'Forced to eat beef' have also been chosen as per case details. In such cases, a non-Hindu man is in a relationship with a Hindu woman when the pressure to convert her religion begins to manifest. The relationship in such cases is mostly consensual and the religious identity of the perpetrator is known to the Hindu woman in the relationship, however, at some point during the relationship, the non-Hindu man starts to force the victim to convert her religion and give up her Hindu religious identity. In such cases, the methods used to force the victim to convert her religion often revolve around force-feeding beef, forcing her to wear hijab, forcing her to read the Kalma or even pressurizing the victim to do ‘Nikah’, which is marriage under Islamic law, with a prerequisite being conversion to Islam. Cases where a Hindu woman consensually converts to Islam in a relationship will be left out of the hate crime database, even though it could be argued in several cases that the conversion was a result of religious brainwashing. The third sub-category under which this case has been placed is- blackmailed to convert- When Hindu women are in a relationship with non-Hindu men, there are cases where the woman is blackmailed to convert her religion, owing to her religious identity of being a Hindu. Such relationships may be consensual with the religious identity of the non-Hindu man known to the victim, however, there could be cases where the relationship is not consensual and the non-Hindu man starts blackmailing a Hindu woman to convert her religion. In these cases, it is often seen that the Hindu woman is blackmailed with intimate photos and/or videos, threats of harm to her or her family, threats of violence etc. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. The fourth sub-category selected her is- assault or threat upon refusal to convert- When Hindu women are in a relationship with non-Hindu men, there are cases where the woman faces threats or assault after she refuses to convert and change her religious identity owing to pressure/force by the non-Hindu man. Such relationships may be consensual with the religious identity of the non-Hindu man known to the victim. Somewhere along the relationship, the non-Hindu man starts pressurizing the Hindu woman to convert to Islam and upon her refusal, assaults or threatens the victim. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. Cases where the Hindu woman converts to Islam and does not file a complaint about the force or threat, are not considered a part of the hate tracker, even though, it may be argued that the woman was brainwashed or threatened to convert to Islam. Many aspects mark this case as driven by hate and bigotry. Firstly, the Muslim man masquerades as a Hindu to lure the Hindu woman into a relationship. This deceptive and manipulative behaviour, which involved concealing his true religious identity, is a clear case of religious hate. By posing as someone who shares her faith, he manipulated her trust and violated her ability to make informed decisions about her relationships. This deception is not just a personal betrayal but a targeted attack on her religious identity, as the girl's trust was built on the belief that she was interacting with someone from her own religious community. Secondly, he violates her trust by recording obscene videos of hers and then uses them to blackmail her into leaving her husband and living with him. He also used the pictures to blackmail her into converting her religion to Islam. Further, when his real identity was revealed to the victim, he threatened to rape her 4-year-old daughter. These were all arm-twisting tactics to coerce the victim into complying with his conversion demands. The use of blackmail and threat to force conversion is a clear demonstration of religious hate, as it targets the victim's religious beliefs and seeks to erase her identity. Further, the religious angle of the crime became more apparent when the Muslim man forced the woman to follow Islamic practices like wearing a burqa, reading namaz and eating beef. Forcing a Hindu to consume beef is not only a profound disrespect to their religious beliefs but also constitutes a religiously motivated hate crime. In Hinduism, cows are revered as sacred animals, symbolising life and sustenance, and the act of consuming beef is considered highly sacrilegious by many Hindus. Therefore, compelling a Hindu to eat beef goes beyond mere dietary imposition; it is an intentional violation of their religious principles and an assault on their cultural and spiritual identity. In the broader context of hate crimes, forcing someone to engage in behaviour that is expressly forbidden or offensive in their religion is a clear manifestation of religious intolerance. It demonstrates a blatant disregard for the victim's rights to practice their faith freely. Here, the actions of the perpetrator clearly point towards the deep disdain he harboured for Hindus and their religious beliefs. It is evident that the perpetrator targeted the victim because of her religious identity and that his motivation was driven by religious hate. This case has been documented in the hate tracker as every detail points towards the fact that the perpetrator wanted to target the victim because of her religious identity specifically and that his motivation was driven by religious hate.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 1
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 1
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
