Father of 3 children Wasim poses as Basant to lure Hindu woman and marries her in a temple, accused's family forces girl to convert to Islam after marriage
Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India 
15 March, 2024
Case Summary
In Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, a Hindu woman named Raveena accused a Muslim businessman from Ahmedabad of cheating. Raveena reported that the man whose real name was Wasim posed as a Hindu to lure her into a relationship. Wasim pretended to be Basant and sent Raveena a Facebook friend request which she accepted. The duo began talking, fell in love and married in a temple. After this, Raveena discovered that Basant was actually Wasim and that he had a wife and three children. Wasim's family started demanding that she convert to Islam. During their court marriage, Wasim changed her name to Rabina Bano and coerced her to sign blank papers. His family began abusing her. Despite Wasim's imprisonment for a prior similar case and false promises post-release, he continued to harass her. Wasim and his accomplices looted her home. Raveena reported this to the police.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
Distinct elements in this particular case demonstrate that the crime was committed while harbouring a bias against the Hindu faith. As per case details, the prime category under which this case has been placed in the hate tracker is 'hate crime against woman in relationship'. To break it down further, two sub-categories under this prime category have been chosen here. The first sub-category relevant in this case is, 'man pretends to be Hindu', under which two tertiary categories namely, 'Name Changed' and 'Marries as per Hindu rituals' have been selected. 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 chosen is, 'Forced conversion after marriage' In such cases, a non-Hindu man marries a Hindu woman and the force/pressure to convert to Islam begins after marriage. In such cases, the marriage is consensual in most cases and often, there is no element of the man hiding his religious identity. The marriage could be under the Special Marriages Act where neither parties are required to convert their religion for the marriage to be considered legitimate. While the victim in such cases enters matrimony assuming that religious identity is not a barrier, the non-Hindu man starts to pressure the woman to convert to Islam after marriage. In such cases, there is application of force by the perpetrator, including, denial of the woman’s religious rights. Some of the means by which the woman is forced/pressured to convert include force-feeding beef, forced to read the Kalma, forced to wear a hijab, forced for Halala, etc. There are several instances where after marriage, the woman voluntarily converts to Islam. Such cases are often argued to be a result of religious brainwashing, however, for the purpose of documenting religiously motivated hate crimes, in the absence of the victim complaining of forced conversion, such cases do not form a part of the database. What gives this case a distinct religious angle is that the Muslim perpetrator actively hid his religion and pretended to be a Hindu to ensnare the Hindu woman. He purposely married her as per Hindu rituals to deceive the Hindu girl. Further, when his real identity was revealed, he and his family members inflicted torture and forced the Hindu victim to convert to Islam. In fact, they changed her name from Raveena to Rabina Bano, a Muslim name, against her will. Further, the details of the case reveal that the victim was not the only target of the Muslim perpetrator but he had previously also targeted a Hindu woman. The religious motive of the crime is evident from the fact that the perpetrator intentionally targeted only Hindu women by hiding his religious identity and then exploiting them. This stems from the perpetrators's bias for the Hindu faith, which is why 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 0
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
