Javed, Ujjain Khan and others force Harshit Gupta to convert to Islam, arrested after 25-year-old’s dead body recovered from Javed’s home
Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh, India 
15 July, 2024
Case Summary
On August 6th, Uttar Pradesh Police arrested four individuals, including a man named Javed, in connection with the death and forced religious conversion of Harshit Gupta, a 25-year-old Hindu man. Gupta, who had been working for Javed in his seed shop and living at his residence in Mainpuri, was found dead, hanging from the roof. The incident was reportedly related to attempts to force Gupta to convert to Islam. Gupta, originally from Kasganj, had been staying in Mainpuri for work. His family reported that Javed and his family had been pressuring Harshit to convert to Islam and had even tried to isolate him from his parents. Harshit's father recalled that after his wife's death in December 2023, Javed’s family prevented Harshit from visiting home and participating in Hindu religious functions. Concerned, the family lodged a missing person complaint on July 16th after losing contact with Harshit. During the investigation, police discovered Gupta’s body in a room at Javed’s home. His body was found hanging from the roof with a white cloth, and his face had been severely damaged. The police sent the body for post-mortem and arrested four individuals: Javed, Ujjain Khan, Jain Razi, and another suspect, as they continued their investigation into the circumstances surrounding Gupta’s death.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been placed under the sub-category- murdered for refusing to convert, within the prime category- predatory proselytisation based on the testimony of the Hindu victim's family, where they confirmed to the police that the Muslim accused Javed and his family had been pressuring the victim to convert to Islam and even prevented him from visiting home and participating in Hindu religious functions When there is pressure, threat or coercion employed upon the Hindu victim to convert to a different religion, in several cases, the victim refuses to succumb to the pressure/threats. Once the victim refuses, the perpetrator proceeds to murder the victim owing to his/her refusal to convert. In such cases, the pressure/threat/intimidation/coercion/violence itself is driven by animosity towards the victim’s Hindu faith. The murder then is another hate crime driven by the victim’s refusal to abandon his professed faith, Hinduism, and convert to the religion of the non-Hindu perpetrator. Since the victim’s faith is at the heart of the pressure to convert and the ensuing murder of the victim, such cases are considered religiously motivated hate crimes.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
1
Gender
- Male 1
- Female 0
- 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
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
