Muslim youth and aides attempt to kidnap Hindu girls to convert them, open fire on parents when they resist
Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, India 
6 March, 2024
Case Summary
In Moradabad, a man named Muslim, his father Nanhe, and two uncles Aleh Hassan and Suleman, broke into a private firm employee Sunil Kumar's house in Shivpuri village around 2:30 am, aiming to kidnap his two daughters. The attackers, armed with guns and sharp objects, opened fire, injuring Kumar, his wife, and son. Police registered a case against Muslim, his relatives, and two unknown assailants. The main accused, Muslim, had been threatening the family for several days prior to the attack. He had sent a threatening audio message to the girl's father, demanding that they hand over his elder daughter, threatening to kill the entire family if they did not comply. The eldest daughter, aged 22 and married with a son, revealed that Muslim had been in contact with her for a long time. Despite distancing herself after marriage, Muslim abducted her on March 7, taking her to Jaipur, Rajasthan, and pressuring her to convert to Islam. Three more suspects, Mahfooz, Bhure Khan, and Yusuf, were identified during the investigation. Mahfooz and Bhure Khan were arrested in an encounter on June 30, and their houses were also demolished for encroachment.
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, two prime categories under which this case has been placed in the hate tracker are 'attack not resulting in death' and 'predatory proselytisation'. To break down the case further, the sub-category 'attacked for opposing radicals/or trying to save victim from radicals' has been selected under the first prime category while the sub-category 'Harassment, threats, coercion for conversion' has been chosen under the second prime category. The first sub-category chosen for this case is, attacked for opposing radicals/or trying to save victim from 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. The second relevant sub-category is, 'Harassment, threats, coercion for conversion.' Harassment covers a wide range of behaviours of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour that demeans, humiliates, and intimidates a person, including threats and coercion. Harassment and threats in this case find their root on discriminatory grounds which have the effect of nullifying a person’s rights or infringing upon his freedom to exercise his right specifically owing to the victim’s religious identity. Verbal and physical threats and psychological or physical harassment are often used against Hindu victims because they choose to practice their professed religion. Religious harassment also includes forced and involuntary conversions by harassment, threats or coercion. Coercion includes intimidatory tactics like force-feeding a Hindu victim beef to convert to another religion and forceful circumcision. In several cases documented, non-Hindu perpetrators or those who harbour specific animosity towards Hinduism, harass victims simply based on their religious identity. Such cases often also include harassment in an attempt to make the Hindu victim abandon his/her professed religion and adopt the religion of the perpetrator. In this sub-category, we would include cases where the non-Hindu perpetrator harassed, threatened or coerced the victim to convert, however, the Hindu victim did not convert to another faith. Cases where the victim was converted owing to the harassment and threats would be documented in another sub-category. Such cases where Hindu victims are harassed to convert to the perpetrator’s religion are rooted in animosity towards the victim’s religious identity and are therefore documented as religiously motivated hate crimes. The violent assault on Sunil Kumar and his family was a direct result of their efforts to resist the coercive and threatening behaviour of the accused, Muslim, who had been targeting their daughter. The family’s refusal to comply with Muslim’s demands to surrender their daughter, along with their opposition to his attempts at religious conversion, provoked the brutal attack. This clearly falls under the first category, as the family became victims for standing up to radical actions aimed at subjugating them. Furthermore, the accused's consistent harassment, including threats of murder, the abduction of the elder daughter, and the subsequent pressure to convert her to Islam, highlights the second category. The use of intimidation and violence to impose religious conversion reflects a targeted hostility rooted in the victim’s Hindu identity. This offence underscores the religious animosity the accused harboured against the victim's faith, making it a clear instance of religiously motivated hate.
Victim Details
Total Victim
5
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 2
- Female 3
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 5
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 3
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 2
Case Status
Case sub-judice
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 5 to 10
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
