Mahtab of Bihar befriends Hindu minor girl on Instagram, gets her pregnant and facilitates conversion
Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh, India 
9 February, 2024
Case Summary
The Kotwali police in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, arrested a young man accused of facilitating the conversion of a Hindu teenage girl and subsequently sent him to jail. The teenager, approximately six months pregnant, underwent a medical examination. The situation began seven months prior to the date of the complaint, when the accused, identified as Mahtab, befriended the teenage girl on Instagram. The girl's mother noticed her daughter was missing and went to the Kotwali police station to file a report. However, her complaint was initially dismissed, and the police did not register a missing persons report. The case gained attention when, a few days later, the accused shared photos of himself and the girl from his Instagram account, 'MD Mehtab 3612.' On September 19, the girl’s mother approached SP Neeraj Kumar Jadoun with a written application, tearfully sharing her ordeal. Following the SP's directives, the Kotwali police officially registered a case against the accused under various sections related to religious conversion on September 19, 2024. They initiated a search for both the teenager and the young man. The police eventually located the teenager at the home of Mahtab in Mithhananpur, Bihar, based on information provided by the girl's mother. During questioning, Mahtab claimed that he worked in bangle making and had befriended the teenager on Instagram. He admitted that he had travelled to Hardoi to meet her in person on February 10, 2024.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category of 'Hate crimes against women in relationship and sexual crimes.' Under this, the sub-category which has been selected is- Brainwashed and/or groomed. Further, one tertiary category namely 'Conversion of minor' has also been selected as per case details. In our database, we have not added incidents where women have converted to another religion of their free will and no allegations of forced/involuntary conversion have been made. However, there are certain cases of conversion where the consent itself is a result of the brainwashing or grooming of a minor by the non-Hindu perpetrator trying to victimise a woman for her Hindu religious identity. The phenomenon of grooming points to non-Hindu perpetrators identifying their Hindu victims’ vulnerabilities and exploiting them over months and sometimes years, to extract the supposed ‘consent’ in order to convert their religion. In most cases of grooming, the victims are minors or the grooming started when the victim was a minor. In other cases of grooming, the non-Hindu perpetrator brainwashes and grooms a minor victim to extract their trust and then proceeds to rape them repeatedly with the intent of converting them to their faith. It is pertinent to understand here that when the victim is a minor, the ‘consent’ to convert or enter into a romantic relationship with an adult itself is redundant – addressed by POCSO. While every case of conversion of a minor and incidents of establishing a physical relationship with a minor by an adult is a crime, for the purpose of this database, a case would be considered a hate crime only if there is a distinct religious angle to the grooming. For example, in the UK, if a Hindu minor is targeted by Pakistani grooming gangs, it would be considered a hate crime because the victims are specifically targeted owing to their non-Muslim religious identity with the perpetrators being Muslim. In other cases, if a Hindu minor is brainwashed into entering a physical relationship with the non-Hindu adult perpetrator and the family alleges grooming/brainwashing of the minor to convert her religion, it would form a part of this database. If the victim is a Hindu adult, the case would form a part of this database only if the victim herself says that she was brainwashed/groomed to convert her religion. However, if the victim is deceased (murdered or otherwise), the case would form a part of this database if her family/friends provided testimony that the victim was brainwashed/groomed to convert her religion. Since these crimes have a distinct religious angle where the victim is being targeted owing to her Hindu religious identity, these cases are considered hate crimes. In this instance, there is no specific element of the Muslim accused hiding his identity. In such cases, the woman, in all probability, is made to believe that her faith would not stand in the way of their relationship. Here too, taking the accused’s word for it, the Hindu minor entered into a romantic relationship with the Muslim man. Taking advantage of this trust the Muslim perpetrator groomed the minor victim and eloped with her. Further, the details of this case reveal that the Hindu victim was a minor, indicating a lack of consent and a genuine change of conscience. It is a well-established fact that children are more susceptible to manipulation since they are still developing emotionally, cognitively, and socially. Their brains are not fully matured, making them more vulnerable to influence and less capable of critically evaluating information. Consequently, cases involving religious manipulation of minors not only represent an infringement on an individual's religious freedom but also demonstrate a calculated strategy of targeting those who are less able to resist or understand the long-term implications of conversion, making it a significant case of religious-motivated hate crime. For this reason, this case has been added to the 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 1
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
