Hindu girl deceived, raped, coerced to do nikah by Muslim man posing as Hindu; victim along with her family also subjected to threats and assaults
Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India 
19 July, 2025
Case Summary
In Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, a Hindu girl was lured, raped and coerced into religious conversion and nikah by a Muslim man named Zubair Khan. Khan feigned Hindu identity to coerce the woman into a relationship. According to reports, the accused befriended the victim about six months ago in July 2025 by introducing himself as a Hindu man named Akash Khanna. The accused used to follow her while she was going to school. They began talking to each other, and the accused gradually trapped her into a relationship. On 20 July 2025, the accused lured and manipulated the victim and took her to a hotel in the Sarasaul area, where he raped her at gunpoint and took obscene pictures and videos of her. He also took her to a dargah, where he claimed he would take her to Mumbai to perform Nikah (Islamic marriage) with her. He further told her he would convert her religion to Islam and would change her name to Anam, essentially a Muslim name. The accused forced her to wear a burqa and raped her multiple times. When the victim later discovered his true identity and that he was a Muslim, she began keeping her distance from him. However, one day, the accused intercepted her, covered her face with a cloth, and threatened to kill her and her family if she spoke about the matter to anyone. He took obscene photos and videos of her and blackmailed her for conversion. On 27 September 2025, the accused and his brother, Aamir, reached a temple inside the Barahdwari complex where the victim's father was a priest. The victim's family, including her brother and mother, were also present there. The accused, armed with pistols, began abusing and attacking the victim's family. They brutally assaulted her brother. Subsequently, the victim lodged a complaint at the Bannadevi police station, following which the police registered a case of rape, fraud, and forced religious conversion. A special team of women police personnel was constituted, and the police came into action. On learning that a complaint had been filed, the accused Zubair attempted to escape the city. However, the police intercepted him near the Baraula bypass. On being caught, the accused opened fire on the police officers. The police returned fire, striking him in the leg, after which he surrendered. He was admitted to the hospital for treatment and was later presented in court. Investigations revealed that Zubair had a history of criminal activity, with three registered cases already filed against him at the Bannadevi police station. As of the date of writing this report, the investigation was ongoing. Following this, news also emerged that the victim's mother filed a complaint at the Banna Devi police station. She told the police that her daughter was forcibly abducted by Aamir, Zubair's brother, and his accomplice, Shahrukh, on a motorcycle. They took her to the civil court, where they made her sit on a lawyer's seat and threatened to kill her if she did not withdraw the police case. They forced the girl to sign several documents and even recorded a video of the incident. Banna Devi Police Station in-charge Inspector Shiv Prasad Singh stated that Aamir and Shahrukh had been absconding for the past year. Several cases related to forced religious conversion and threats had been registered against them. The police received information about their activities, following which the team took action and arrested both of them from the Banna Devi police station area. The Inspector-in-Charge stated that Aamir had a long criminal history. He had nine cases registered against him in several police stations in Aligarh, including serious charges such as kidnapping, threats, rape, and forced religious conversion. His partner, Shahrukh, had eight cases registered against him. Police were interrogating both accused and were searching for their other accomplices.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The primary category in this case is: Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. The first subcategory under this is: Man pretends to be Hindu. The tertiary category under this is: Name changed. 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 other sub-category selected is - Brainwashed and/or groomed, with the tertiary category being - Rape and sexual assault/harassment. 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. The other sub-category selected here is - Forced conversion before marriage, with the tertiary category being - Forced to do Nikah and Forced to wear burqa. 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. In such cases, typically, two patterns emerge. First, when the relationship is 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. The second is when the woman gets into a marriage with the man pretending to share her faith. Later, when the truth is revealed, the man starts pressuring the woman to convert her religion and give up her religious identity. In both the situations, 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 other sub-category selected here 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 other sub-category selected here 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. The other sub-category selected here is - Torture of family to force woman to convert. When Hindu women are in a relationship with non-Hindu men, there are cases where the woman is forced to convert her religion. Several methods are used for such forced conversion. The non-Hindu man is often documented to issue threats and even employ violence. One of the ways used by such perpetrators is threatening and/or torturing the family members of the Hindu woman to pressure her to convert. The perpetrators in such cases issue threats to harm or torture the family of the woman. In some cases, there is also violence directed towards the family to force the Hindu woman to convert. Such crimes aim to blackmail the victim into changing her religion by inducing fear of harm to her family. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. Another primary category selected is- Attack not resulting in death. Within this, the subcategory selected is- Communal Clash/ Attack. Communal clash is a form of collective violence that involves clashes between groups belonging to different religious identities. For a communal clash between Hindus and non-Hindus to qualify as a religiously motivated hate crime, the trigger of the violence itself would have to be anti-Hindu in essence. For example, if there is a Hindu religious procession that comes under attack from a non-Hindu mob and after the initial attack, Hindus retaliate in self-defence, leading to a communal clash between the two religious communities. While at a later stage, both communities are involved in the clash/violence, the initial trigger of the violence was by the non-Hindu mob against the Hindus and therefore, it could safely be termed as an anti-Hindu violence. Further, the trigger would also have to be religiously motivated. In the cited example, the attack by the non-Hindu mob was against religious processions and therefore, can be concluded to be religiously motivated. In some cases, the trigger may be non-religious, however, it develops into religious violence against Hindus at a later stage. In such cases too, the foundational animosity towards Hindus becomes the motivating factor of the crime and therefore, it would be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime against Hindus under this category. The other subcategory selected is- Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim. In several cases, Hindus are attacked for opposing religiously motivated crimes being committed against a fellow Hindu or simply for voicing an opinion opposing radical elements, who either have in the past or continue to persecute Hindus. In such cases, the initial attack against the victim, against which the Hindu was trying to defend the victim, would also need to be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the initial crime itself was religiously motivated and the subsequent crime of attempting to save the victim or speaking against the radical elements ends up inviting a violent attack, it would also be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. This case has been added to the tracker because a Hindu girl was lured into a relationship, raped and threatened for religious conversion by a Muslim man who pretended to be Hindu. Firstly, the perpetrator deliberately concealed his religious identity to initiate and sustain a relationship with a Hindu girl. This was a clear manifestation of bias and malicious intent towards the victim’s religion. By concealing his true identity, he exploited her trust and targeted her under false pretences. This indicates premeditated intent to manipulate her based on her religious background. In such cases, the tactic of adopting a false Hindu identity to “ensnare” a Hindu individual is not merely an act of personal betrayal but can also be interpreted as an expression of disdain for Hinduism and its customs, reflecting a deeper animosity towards Hindus and their beliefs. Secondly, the accused attempted to force the Hindu victim to renounce her religion, convert to Islam and undergo Nikah. Pressuring a Hindu individual to discard her religious faith and embrace another is a direct attack on her religious identity and dignity. It was not a matter of personal choice but coercion rooted in hostility towards the victim’s Hindu identity. Such an attempt reflected religious animosity because the act was not simply about personal differences but about erasing the victim’s Hindu faith, making it a religiously motivated crime. Thirdly, the accused raped her at gunpoint and took obscene pictures and videos, which he later used to blackmail her. In such cases, sexual violence, threats of violence or blackmail serve a dual purpose: physical subjugation and religious humiliation. The intention was to break the victim down emotionally, physically and spiritually, so that she could be converted. Since Islam prohibits marriage to a non-Muslim partner, the victim was pressured for religious conversion. This was not random violence; it was systematic, targeted and rooted in religious animosity. Fourthly, he made her wear a burqa and told her he would change her name to Anam. The imposition of the burqa on the Hindu victim added another layer to the erasure of her Hindu identity. By forcing her to wear a burqa, the perpetrator attempted to strip her of her Hindu faith and impose foreign religious practices upon her. This was not merely about clothing; it symbolised the effort to overwrite her Hindu identity and forcibly assimilate her into practices of the Islamic faith. Similarly, by changing her name, he attempted to symbolically erase her Hindu identity and impose Islam on her. This again demonstrated the religiously motivated nature of the crime. Fifthly, when the victim discovered the perpetrator’s true identity, he threatened to kill her and her family. He also blackmailed her with obscene photos and videos. This showed that the Muslim perpetrator specifically targeted the Hindu victim for exploitation and religious conversion, and when the victim attempted to cut him off, he responded with coercion, threats and blackmail to silence her and make her comply with his conversion demands. These threats were not random acts of violence but were directly tied to her refusal to give up her Hindu faith. Sixthly, the accused, along with his brother, physically assaulted the victim’s family and verbally abused them, threatening them with further harm. This was not random violence but was rooted in communal hostility and religious hatred, intended to coerce the victim into complying with the accused’s demands. Furthermore, the participation of the accused's brother and his accomplice in kidnapping the victim and threatening her to withdraw the case against Zubair Khan or face death demonstrated deep-seated religious animosity. This was a targeted attack on a Hindu girl for opposing the Muslim perpetrator and resisting forced religious conversion, making it a clear case of a religiously motivated crime. Such actions emerge from inherent hostility towards the victim’s professed faith, reflecting doctrinal animosity against Hindus. These predatory actions are rooted in the Abrahamic belief system that regards non-adherents as inferior and dehumanises them unless they convert. Given that this case fulfils multiple criteria of a religiously motivated hate crime, it is therefore being added to the Hinduphobia Tracker’s hate crime database. Disclaimer: It is important to clarify that none of the media sources covering this case have specified the exact date when the victim's ordeal began. The earliest date mentioned is July 20, 2025, when she was taken to a hotel and raped. Since Hinduphobia Tracker records the incident based on when the victim’s ordeal began and not when it was reported, we have considered the date of the incident as July 20, 2025, though the media reported the incident on September 30, 2025.
Victim Details
Total Victim
4
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 2
- Female 2
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 4
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 3
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 1
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
