Sufiyan poses as Hindu, wearing a sacred thread and applying a tilak, to befriend Hindu girl, kills her after she refuses to convert
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India 
31 July, 2024
Case Summary
An incident occurred in Dubagga, Lucknow, where a young Muslim befriended a Hindu girl by wearing a sacred thread and applying a tilak to his forehead, pretending to be Hindu. During their relationship, he sexually exploited her. After a few months, the man revealed his real identity as Sufiyan and pressured the girl to convert to Islam. Despite his repeated demands, the girl consistently refused to change her faith. In November 2022, Sufiyan lured her to the third floor of a building and once again insisted she convert. When she refused, he pushed her from the third floor, resulting in her death.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the hate tracker under the prime category- Hate Crimes against women in relationship and sexual crimes. Further, according to case details, two sub-categories have been selected under the abovementioned prime category. The first is- Man pretends to be Hindu- 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 selected here is- Murder upon refusal to convert- When Hindu women are in a relationship with non-Hindu men, there are cases where the woman is forced to convert her religion and upon her refusal to do so, the non-Hindu partner murders the victim. 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 pressuring the Hindu woman to convert. In some of these cases, the association could be non-consensual as well or, the religious identity of the non-Muslim man could be previously unknown to the Hindu victim. In such cases, the Hindu woman is first pressurized to change her religion by the non-Hindu man. The pressure could involve threats and/or violence. The trigger to murdering the woman in these cases is her refusal to comply and change her religion under threat and/or force. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. Sufiyan’s actions of posing as a Hindu by wearing a sacred thread and applying a tilak to befriend a Hindu girl represent a deliberate and calculated deception aimed at exploiting her religious identity and trust. This facade is not merely a personal disguise; it is a manipulation of cultural and religious symbols that hold significant meaning in Hinduism. By adopting these symbols, Sufiyan seeks to create a false sense of familiarity and acceptance, making it easier to engage with the girl and ultimately pursue his agenda. The situation escalates when Sufiyan, having established this relationship on a foundation of lies, attempts to coerce the girl into converting to Islam. Her refusal to convert is met with violence, ultimately leading to her murder. This tragic outcome is rooted in religious intolerance and highlights the extreme measures the perpetrator is willing to take to assert religious dominance. The coercion to convert, followed by the violent reaction to her refusal, is a direct attack on the girl’s religious freedom and identity. It demonstrates a profound contempt for the victim's religious beliefs and a desire to erase her Hindu identity. This case is a clear example of a religiously motivated hate crime because it involves targeted deception based on religious identity, followed by violence when the victim refuses to conform to the perpetrator’s religious demands. The crime reflects deep-seated religious hatred, as Sufiyan’s actions were driven by an intent to subjugate or punish the girl for maintaining her Hindu faith, ultimately leading to her death when she resisted. This illustrates how religious bias and bigotry can fuel extreme violence, making this a stark example of a hate crime motivated by religious animosity.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
1
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
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
