Hindu woman constable accuses IPL cricketer Mohsin Khan of raping her, and his brother Imran Khan of pretending to adopt Buddhism to marry her, then forcing her to convert to Islam
Prayagraj (Allahabad), Uttar Pradesh, India 
22 February, 2023
Case Summary
A female police constable posted in the Shivkuti police station in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, accused IPL cricketer Mohsin Khan’s brother, Imran Khan of pretending to adopt Buddhism to marry her. Soon after, Imran started pressuring her to convert to Islam. He also allegedly coerced her to have sexual relations with his father Multan and brother Mohsin. Imran forcefully changed her name to Zaira Banu and lied to her about his previous marriage. Even after converting to Buddhism and marrying her in 2018 under the Special Marriage Act, he continued to go to mosques to offer namaz. He also took the victim to mosques in Ajmer and Barabanki. Further, the victim had a three-year-old child, whom Imran forcefully tried to circumcise. When the victim visited Imran’s house for an event, his brother Mohsin Khan allegedly raped her at night. Mohsin Khan is an Indian fast bowler who plays for Uttar Pradesh in domestic cricket and Lucknow Super Giants in Indian Premier League. The victim, a resident of Varanasi, in a video message, pleaded to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for help. She claimed that a case was registered against the accused Imran Khan, however, the officers did not invoke the stringent sections of the SC/ST Act against him. She also alleged that since the accused’s brother is an influential person, his and his father’s names were removed from the FIR.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
Three distinct elements in this particular case demonstrate that the Muslim perpetrator committed the crime while harbouring a bias against the Hindu faith. The first sub-category in this instance is 'forced conversion after marriage', with the tertiary categories like 'forced to go to mosque' and 'forced circumcision' also applicable. In such cases, a non-Hindu man marries a Hindu woman and the force/pressure to convert to Islam begins after marriage. In such cases, the marriage is consensual in most cases and often, there is no element of the man hiding his religious identity. The marriage could be under the Special Marriages Act where neither parties are required to convert their religion for the marriage to be considered legitimate. While the victim in such cases enters matrimony assuming that religious identity is not a barrier, the non-Hindu man starts to pressure the woman to convert to Islam after marriage. In such cases, there is application of force by the perpetrator, including, denial of the woman’s religious rights. Some of the means by which the woman is forced/pressured to convert include force-feeding beef, forced to read the Kalma, forced to wear a hijab, forced for Halala, etc. There are several instances where after marriage, the woman voluntarily converts to Islam. Such cases are often argued to be a result of religious brainwashing, however, for the purpose of documenting religiously motivated hate crimes, in the absence of the victim complaining of forced conversion, such cases do not form a part of the database. The second sub-category applicable in this case is 'rape for refusal to convert'. When Hindu women are in a relationship with non-Hindu men, there are cases where the woman faces pressure/threats/violence to convert and change her religious identity by the non-Hindu man. 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. As the case may be, in such cases, the non-Hindu man forces himself sexually on the Hindu woman when she refuses his advances and pressures to convert her religion. The rape of the woman is often seen as either a punishment for the woman refusing to convert. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. The third sub-category this case qualifies is 'man pretended to be Hindu'. In this case, though there is no specific element of the Muslin accused hiding his identity, but, since he promised to become Hindu and based on that, trapped the Hindu woman only to exploit her, there is a religious angle to the case where it can be argued that the Muslim man pretended to be interested in adopting the victim's religion, therefore, this case is being included in the sub-cat, ‘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. 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. It is further pertinent to note that it is alleged by the victim that the perpetrator also tried to forcefully circumcise the minor son of the victim. This adds another element of a minor being forcefully converted to Islam, which is another religiously motivated hate crime.
Victim Details
Total Victim
2
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 1
- Female 1
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 2
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 0
Age Group
- Minor 1
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Complaint registered
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
