Izhar grooms minor Hindu girl to convert to Islam and marry him; victim's father files complaint after discovering burqa and Quran with her
Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India 
19 September, 2024
Case Summary
In Kaushambi district, Uttar Pradesh, a minor Hindu girl was trapped in a love affair for five years. The main accused, Izhar, manipulated and pressured the 17-year-old girl, a class 10 student, to convert to Islam. Following a complaint by the victim's father, police registered a case against five individuals and arrested Izhar, who was sent to judicial custody. The victim's father reported that the relationship began innocently as friendship but soon turned coercive. He discovered a burqa and a Quran hidden in his daughter's cupboard, which Izhar had given her. Alarmed by this finding, he immediately approached the police. The father also stated that when he confronted Izhar, he was threatened, with Izhar declaring, “I have converted your daughter to Islam and will soon take her with me.” In response to the seriousness of the situation, Kaushambi police initiated an investigation, recovering the burqa and Quran from the minor. Police officials confirmed that Izhar had psychologically manipulated the victim and were investigating the involvement of others. The incident sparked outrage among local Hindu organizations. Ved Prakash Satyarthi, District Joint Secretary of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, voiced concerns about increasing conversion attempts through such tactics and urged the authorities to conduct a thorough investigation and take stringent action against the perpetrators.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category of 'Hate crimes against women in relationships and sexual crimes'. Within this, the sub-category selected is- Brainwashed and/or groomed. Further, as per case details, two tertiary categories named 'Conversion of minor' and 'Family claims grooming of minor' have also been selected under the aforementioned category. In our database, we have not added incidents where women have converted to another religion of their free will and no allegations of forced/involuntary conversion have been made. However, there are certain cases of conversion where the consent itself is a result of the brainwashing or grooming of a minor by the non-Hindu perpetrator trying to victimise a woman for her Hindu religious identity. The phenomenon of grooming points to non-Hindu perpetrators identifying their Hindu victims’ vulnerabilities and exploiting them over months and sometimes years, to extract the supposed ‘consent’ in order to convert their religion. In most cases of grooming, the victims are minors or the grooming started when the victim was a minor. In other cases of grooming, the non-Hindu perpetrator brainwashes and grooms a minor victim to extract their trust and then proceeds to rape them repeatedly with the intent of converting them to their faith. It is pertinent to understand here that when the victim is a minor, the ‘consent’ to convert or enter into a romantic relationship with an adult itself is redundant – addressed by POCSO. While every case of conversion of a minor and incidents of establishing a physical relationship with a minor by an adult is a crime, for the purpose of this database, a case would be considered a hate crime only if there is a distinct religious angle to the grooming. For example, in the UK, if a Hindu minor is targeted by Pakistani grooming gangs, it would be considered a hate crime because the victims are specifically targeted owing to their non-Muslim religious identity with the perpetrators being Muslim. In other cases, if a Hindu minor is brainwashed into entering a physical relationship with the non-Hindu adult perpetrator and the family alleges grooming/brainwashing of the minor to convert her religion, it would form a part of this database. If the victim is a Hindu adult, the case would form a part of this database only if the victim herself says that she was brainwashed/groomed to convert her religion. However, if the victim is deceased (murdered or otherwise), the case would form a part of this database if her family/friends provided testimony that the victim was brainwashed/groomed to convert her religion. Since these crimes have a distinct religious angle where the victim is being targeted owing to her Hindu religious identity, these cases are considered hate crimes. Here, there is no specific element of the Muslim accused hiding his identity. In such cases, the woman, in all probability, is made to believe that her faith would not stand in the way of their relationship. Here too, the Hindu minor entered into a romantic relationship with the Muslim man, possibly believing that their religious difference would not matter to them. However, gradually, the Muslim accused brainwashed her and managed to convert to Islam. According to the victim's father's testimony, the accused gave a burqa and Quran to the minor girl. This is a subtle yet powerful form of coercion intended to pressure an individual into adopting Islamic customs and, by extension, Islamic beliefs. This case has been classified as a hate crime where indoctrination and manipulation were used since the Muslim male took advantage of the Hindu girl with the sole aim of alienating her from her professed faith. Further, it is important to note that the Hindu victim in this case was a minor. This indicates a lack of consent and a genuine change of conscience. It is a well-established fact that children are more susceptible to manipulation since they are still developing emotionally, cognitively, and socially. Their brains are not fully matured, making them more vulnerable to influence and less capable of critically evaluating information. This makes it challenging for parents, to identify and address instances of religious manipulation. Consequently, cases involving religious manipulation of minors not only represent an infringement on an individual's religious freedom but also demonstrate a calculated strategy of targeting those who are less able to resist or understand the long-term implications of conversion, making it a significant case of religious-motivated hate crime. For this reason, this case has been added to the tracker.
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 1
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 5 to 10
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
