Muslim barber befriends minor Hindu girl on social media, intoxicates her, rapes her, threatens her at knife-point and makes video viral online
Chamoli, Uttarakhand, India 
15 February, 2024
Case Summary
Chamoli Police in Uttarakhand arrested a Muslim individual working as a barber in Therali for raping a minor Hindu girl and making a video of it. The incident took place in February, 2024, however, it came to the fore after the video went viral over social media. This prompted the parents of the victim to file a police complaint. Reportedly, the accused befriended the victim on social media and began talking to her. On February 16, the accused Muslim called the girl into his shop and intoxicated her with some substance. The accused then raped the unconscious girl and recorded her video. When the girl gained consciousness, the accused threatened the victim using a knife to keep her mouth shut. After the girl blocked the accused, he started contacting her mother and brother, issuing threats to the victim. Eventually, he escalated the harassment by making her video viral. The girl's parents filed a police complaint on October 8, leading to the arrest of the accused on October 10. He was brought before the Special Sessions Judge Bindhyachal Singh and sent to jail. The incident caused tensions in the area, prompting locals to protest by blocking roads and demanding action. In response, heavy police forces were deployed, a flag march was conducted, and authorities urged the public to remain peaceful.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
In this case, It is further important to note here that the victim was a minor, which means the element of consent and genuine change of conscience was missing ab initio. Minors, due to their young age and lack of maturity, are particularly vulnerable to manipulation and coercion. As such, the perpetrator is guilty under the POCSO Act for targeting a minor. However, it is not clear from the details of the case if the minor was targeted based on her religious identity. There are no details to indicate that either the perpetrator hid his religious identity to befriend the minor on social media, forced her to convert or had a pattern of targeting Hindu minors, for example. For that reason, this case is being added to the undecided database. If more information emerges, it would be added to the hate crime database.
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 
