Muslim man Sameer pretends to be a Hindu to trap a Hindu girl, pretends to marry her in temple, then forces her to convert
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India 
12 May, 2023
Case Summary
In Ghaziabad's Ankur Vihar, a Hindu girl befriended a man named Naresh in 2023, who claimed to be from Seemapuri, Delhi. They frequently met and talked, and he secured her a job at his factory. On March 13, 2023, he established a physical relationship with her and threatened her to keep it a secret. He later took her to a Lord Shiva temple in Haridwar, performing a fake marriage ceremony. He put sindoor (vermilion) on her. A month later, she visited his home in Nandnagari and discovered his real name was Sameer and that he was actually a Muslim from Shahidnagar, Ghaziabad. When confronted, he beat her and forced her to embrace Islam, threatening her with life. She escaped and filed a police complaint. Assistant Commissioner of Police Bhaskar Verma confirmed that the police had arrested Sameer alias Naresh for the deception, rape and assault.
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, '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 under which this case has been placed is, 'assault and 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. 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 inflicted torture and threatened the Hindu victim to convert to Islam. 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 0
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 1
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
