Muslim youth lures minor Hindu girl into relationship, rapes and forces her to convert to Islam
Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India 
7 November, 2024
Case Summary
In the Madhotal area in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur district, a 17-year-old student was raped by her friend and pressured to convert to another religion. The accused, Fardeen alias Tanveer, had known the minor victim for years and lured her into a relationship, exploiting her trust. Later, he coerced her to convert to Islam under the pretext of marriage and threatened her when she refused. The case was reported on October 8, when the victim filed a complaint at Madhotal police station. She revealed that the accused had trapped her in a fake relationship and abused her trust. Following her complaint, the police took swift action, registering a case of rape and other offences. After a month-long search, the accused was arrested and is now in custody.
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'. Under this, the sub-category chosen is- Brainwashed and/or groomed. Further, as per the details, the tertiary categories selected here are- 'Rape and sexual assault/harassment' and 'Conversion of minor'. 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. In this instance, while the Muslim accused did not hide his identity, the nature of the relationship suggests that the Hindu woman was initially led to believe that her faith would not be a barrier to their romantic involvement. Trusting the accused's word, she entered the relationship, during which the Muslim man took advantage of her physically under the pretence of marriage. However, his true intentions were exposed when he began pressuring her to convert to Islam. To further coerce the victim, he resorted to threatening her. The accused's actions were not just about physical exploitation but were rooted in a desire to strip the victim of her Hindu identity and force her into adopting Islam. Given these elements, the case has been classified as a religiously motivated hate crime, driven by the accused's animosity towards the Hindu faith. It may be noted here that the victim in this case was a minor, which means the element of consent and genuine change of conscience was missing ab initio. Minors, due to their young age and lack of maturity, are particularly vulnerable to manipulation and coercion. They may not have the ability to fully understand the implications of converting to another religion and the Muslim perpetrator purposely targeted and exploited this vulnerability of the victim. Since the religious motive of the crime is evident from these facts, this case has been documented as a hate crime.
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
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
