Asif Yunus Pathan pretends to be a Hindu named ‘Nava Patil’, rapes and assaults Hindu woman after pressurising her to send intimate pictures
Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, India 
3 July, 2024
Case Summary
In Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, a 25-year-old Hindu woman was raped and threatened by Asif Yunus Pathan who was posing as a Hindu named ‘Nava Patil’ on Facebook. The woman is believed to have trusted the account, after which she accepted the request and responded to his chats. After establishing a friendship with the woman, he exposed his true identity and brutally raped her. The accused coerced the woman into exchanging phone numbers and chatting on WhatsApp, eventually pressuring her to send nude photos under the threat of exposing their chats to her husband. Fearing these threats, the woman complied. On July 4, the situation escalated when the accused blackmailed the woman, threatening to come to her house. Despite her refusal, he forcibly entered her home and brutally raped her for hours. After leaving briefly, he returned intoxicated and assaulted her again. The woman's cries alerted neighbours, who tried to apprehend the accused, but he managed to escape. The police were eventually informed, and the accused was arrested under various sections of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Samhita, 2023. The police confirmed that the accused had hidden his true identity to deceive the woman.
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 Crimes against women in relationship and sexual crimes. Further, under this category, the case has been placed under the sub-category- Man pretends to be Hindu, under which two tertiary categories have been selected, namely- Name changes and Raped after Hindu woman finds out real identity. 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 religious motive of the crime in this case is evident from the fact that the Muslim perpetrator hid his true identity to trap the Hindu victim. This itself is a clear manifestation of bias and malicious intent towards the victim's religion. Further, the religious angle of the crime became more apparent when the Muslim man inflicted torture on the woman when his true identity was revealed. When a person deliberately conceals their religious identity and pretends to be a Hindu to deceive and ensnare a Hindu woman, this act transcends mere deception and enters the realm of a religiously motivated hate crime. It violates the victim’s trust and disrespects her religious beliefs. This act of deception is an affront to the victim's religious and cultural identity and is an insidious form of religious intolerance that seeks to exploit and undermine the very fabric of the victim's community., which is why this case has been documented in the hate tracker.
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
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
