Azim Ali in Budaun forces Hindu girl to convert to Islam, perform Nikah, eat meat and read Kalma; his kin assaults her for not observing Islamic customs
Budaun, Uttar Pradesh, India 
16 July, 2024
Case Summary
In Uttar Pradesh’s Budaun district, a Muslim youth named Azim Ali forced a Hindu girl to convert to Islam and perform Nikah with him. The accused force-fed meat to the victim along with forcibly taking her to Dargahs and reading Islamic texts. When the Hindu victim refused to do so, Azim Ali thrashed her. On June 25, the victim lodged a complaint at the Kotwali Nagar police station against accused Azim Ali. In her complaint, the victim stated that when she was 17, 24-year-old Azim Ali, who resided in her neighbourhood, lured her into his love trap. Azim blackmailed the girl with obscene pictures and videos, and raped her multiple times. Azim abducted the Hindu girl around a year ago, threatening to kill her and make her obscene video viral. After the girl's father filed a police report, Azim and his father, Shakir Ali, pressured her into giving a favourable statement. Shakir Ali, a chemist, along with his family — mother Reshma, brother Nadeem Ali, and sister Saima, coerced the girl to renounce Hinduism and convert to Islam. They forced her, a strict vegetarian, to cook and eat meat, wear Islamic attire, and read Islamic books. When she objected, she was held captive, assaulted, and starved. Azim forcibly converted her to Islam, performed Nikah, and named her Mayra. On June 24, Azim and his family assaulted her for not observing Islamic norms. The victim escaped, reported the ordeal to the police, and an FIR was registered against Azim and his family members.
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'. Further, two sub-categories under this prime category have been chosen to break down the case. The first sub-category relevant in this case is, 'forced conversion before marriage', under which the tertiary categories selected are, 'forced to go to Mosque', 'forced to wear hijab', 'forced to do nikah', 'forced to follow non-Hindu religious practices' and 'forced to eat beef' 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. The relationship in such cases is mostly 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. In such cases, 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 second sub-category under which this case has been placed 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. In this case, there is no specific element of the Muslin accused hiding his identity. The Hindu woman got into a relationship with the Muslim man assuming that their religious identities would not be a hindrance in their life, however, the Muslim man started applying pressure on the victim to convert to Islam and follow Islamic principles against her will. The accused force-fed meat to the victim along with forcibly taking her to Dargahs and reading Islamic texts. When the Hindu victim refused to do so, the accused and his family members assaulted her. This case has been documented in the hate tracker as every detail points towards the fact that the perpetrator wanted to target the victim because of her religious identity specifically and that his motivation was driven by religious hate.
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
Complaint registered
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 5 to 10
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
