Hindu girl found dead inside well, family lodges complaint against 3 Muslim perpetrators citing 'love jihad'

Case ID : 0b67151 | Location : Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Tue, 9 April, 2024

Case ID : 0b67151

Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh, India

9 April, 2024

Hindu girl found dead inside well, family lodges complaint against 3 Muslim perpetrators citing 'love jihad'

Attack resulting in death

Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim

Case Summary

In Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh, the dead body of a Hindu girl missing for three days was found. The family members reported three Muslim youths harassing the girl, stating it was a case of 'love jihad'. The police started investigating the case and are taking further action by getting the post-mortem of the body done. The SDRF team arrived at the scene and took the body of the girl from the well. The family members lodged a complaint about her disappearance at the local police station, and the police were continuously searching for the missing girl. However, the body was recovered in a well near the girl's house. The family members reported a Muslim man living in the neighbourhood threatening them, and they stated that the girl was murdered and her body was thrown into the well.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the primary category 'attack resulting in death' under the sub-category 'attacked for opposing radicals'. 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, cases where the attack led to the death of the Hindu victim/s would be documented. In this case, the Hindu girl was found inside the well, murdered. The family of the victim specifically said that it was a case of "love jihad" (a term popularly used to define religiously motivated hate crimes and sexual crimes against Hindu women), hinting that their daughter was specifically targeted owing to her religious identity. The family claimed that the Muslim perpetrators were pursuing the woman for a long time and they were responsible for her murder. The perpetrators were subsequently arrested. On the basis of the family's allegation, this case is being documented as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category since the victim was murdered from trying to oppose the advances of the Muslim radicals.