Hindu woman in Haryana trapped by Muslim man through fake Hindu identity, abused and coerced into religious conversion, forced fed beef
Nuh, Haryana, India 
31 March, 2021
Case Summary
A Hindu woman living in Delhi was deceived into a relationship by a Muslim man who misrepresented his identity and later subjected her to sexual exploitation, blackmail, and religious coercion. He recorded her private videos and used them to extort money and pressure her to convert her religion. She was also force-fed beef and physically and mentally abused when she resisted. The incident involved multiple individuals who acted together to pressure her into abandoning her faith. The Hindu woman, originally from West Bengal, was working in Delhi in patient care after her divorce. Around five years earlier, she came into contact with a Muslim man named Sahil. He introduced himself as a Hindu and unmarried man and built a relationship with her by expressing his intent to marry. Over time, he gained her trust and, around four months before the incident came to light, he persuaded her to meet him. He took her from Delhi to Nuh, where he arranged accommodation in Medina Colony. There, he performed Hindu marriage rituals by applying sindoor, which is a traditional red vermilion mark worn by married Hindu women, to create the impression of marriage. After this, he sexually exploited her and recorded private photos and videos without her consent. The Hindu woman was repeatedly subjected to sexual exploitation while in Nuh. The Muslim man retained the recorded material and used it to maintain control over her. The exploitation was continuous and accompanied by threats linked to the misuse of these recordings. After some time, he took the Hindu woman to his village in Dungarpur, Palwal district. There, she discovered that he was Muslim and already married. At the residence, his family members, including his father Aslam, his brother Rahul, and his mother, pressured her to accept Islam. When she refused, she faced physical and mental abuse from them. The woman also revealed that a few days before Eid, Sahil called her and asked her to come with him to his village to convert to Islam and eat beef. The Hindu woman was threatened with the release of her private videos if she approached the police. Under this threat, the Muslim man extorted approximately 2 lakh rupees from her. Unable to endure the continued threats, coercion, and abuse, the Hindu woman managed to escape from the situation.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category - Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. Within this, the subcategory selected is - Man pretends to be Hindu. The tertiary categories under this are - Marries as per Hindu rituals and Name changed. 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. Another subcategory selected is - Brainwashed and/or groomed. Within this, the tertiary categories selected are - Victim says she was brainwashed/groomed, and Rape and sexual harrasment. 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 a hate crime. Another subcategory selected is - Forced conversion after marriage. Within this, the tertiary category selected is - Forced to eat beef. In such cases, a non-Hindu man marries a Hindu woman, and the force/pressure to convert to any Abrahamic faith, like Islam, begins after marriage. In such cases, typically, two patterns emerge. First, when the relationship is consensual, and the religious identity of the perpetrator is known to the Hindu woman in the relationship. 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 her religion after marriage. The second is when the woman gets into a marriage with the man, pretending to share her faith. Later, when the truth is revealed, the man starts pressuring the woman to convert her religion and give up her religious identity. In both situations, there is application of force by the perpetrator, including the denial of the woman’s religious rights. Some of the means by which the woman is forced/pressured to convert include force-feeding beef, being forced to read the Kalma, being forced to wear a hijab, forced to undergo 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. Another sub-category is Blackmailed to convert. When Hindu women are in a relationship with non-Hindu men, there are cases where the woman is blackmailed to convert her religion, owing to her religious identity of being a Hindu. Such relationships may be consensual with the religious identity of the non-Hindu man known to the victim, however, there could be cases where the relationship is not consensual and the non-Hindu man starts blackmailing a Hindu woman to convert her religion. In these cases, it is often seen that the Hindu woman is blackmailed with intimate photos and/or videos, threats of harm to her or her family, threats of violence etc. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. Another sub-category is Assault or threat upon refusal to convert. When Hindu women are in a relationship with non-Hindu men, there are cases where the woman faces threats or assault after she refuses to convert and change her religious identity owing to pressure/force 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 pressurizing the Hindu woman to convert to Islam and upon her refusal, assaults or threatens the victim. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. Cases where the Hindu woman converts to Islam and does not file a complaint about the force or threat, are not considered a part of the hate tracker, even though, it may be argued that the woman was brainwashed or threatened to convert to Islam. This case involved a Hindu woman who was deliberately deceived by a Muslim man who concealed his identity and presented himself as Hindu. She was drawn into a relationship under false pretences and then subjected to sexual exploitation, blackmail, and coercion. She was pressured to convert her religion after being manipulated through a staged marriage ritual. The harm she faced was directly linked to attempts to alter her religious identity. The Hindu woman was approached by a man who introduced himself as Hindu and unmarried. This was significant because it shaped her willingness to trust and engage in a relationship. The use of a false Hindu identity removed a key social and religious boundary. This shows that her identity as a Hindu woman was specifically considered in how she was targeted. The Hindu woman was subjected to a staged marriage ritual where sindoor, a sacred Hindu symbol of marriage, was applied to her. This was significant because it misused a core element of Hindu religious practice to create a false sense of legitimacy. The act was not neutral but designed to manipulate her belief system and trust. This demonstrates that Hindu religious customs were used as a tool to deceive her. The Hindu woman was sexually exploited and recorded without her consent. This was significant because the recordings were later used to blackmail her. The blackmail created a situation where she was forced to continue enduring abuse. This shows that coercion was systematically used to control her actions and decisions. The Hindu woman was pressured to convert her religion after the relationship and exploitation had been established. This was significant because the demand for conversion directly targeted her faith. It also demonstrates that the Muslim perpetrator deliberately deceived the Hindu woman to pursue his underlying objective of religious conversion. Such actions constitute a violation of the Hindu woman's right to practise her faith and an attempt to strip her of her Hindu identity. These acts reflect deep-seated religious animosity and disdain towards Hindus and Hinduism. The pressure was reinforced by threats and intimidation when she refused. This demonstrates that her Hindu identity was central to the coercion she faced. The Hindu woman faced physical and mental abuse when she resisted conversion. This was significant because the violence followed her refusal to abandon her religion. The harm intensified as she maintained her identity. This shows that punishment was linked to her refusal to convert. Another very important religious marker in this case is that the Hindu woman was also forced to eat beef. Forcing a Hindu to consume beef is not only a profound disrespect to their religious beliefs but also constitutes a religiously motivated hate crime. In Hinduism, cows are revered as sacred animals, symbolising life and sustenance, and the act of consuming beef is considered highly sacrilegious by many Hindus. Therefore, compelling a Hindu to eat beef goes beyond mere dietary imposition; it is an intentional violation of their religious principles and an assault on their cultural and spiritual identity. In the broader context of hate crimes, forcing someone to engage in behaviour that is expressly forbidden or offensive in their religion is a clear manifestation of religious intolerance. It demonstrates a blatant disregard for the victim's rights to practice their faith freely. Here, the actions of the perpetrator clearly point towards the deep disdain he harboured for Hindus and their religious beliefs. It is evident that the perpetrator targeted the victim because of her religious identity and that his motivation was driven by religious hate. The Hindu woman described being emotionally influenced and controlled over time, reflecting a pattern of grooming. This was significant because trust and dependence were built before coercion escalated. The grooming made resistance more difficult and prolonged the abuse. This shows that manipulation and coercion were used together to target her. The Hindu woman remained under constant threat through blackmail, extortion, and intimidation. This was significant because it created a sustained environment of fear. The pressure to convert and comply was continuous and reinforced through multiple forms of harm. This demonstrates that the abuse was structured and prolonged. Given that this case met the parameters of a religiously motivated hate crime, it was added to the hate crime database of the tracker. Disclaimer: The tracker records incident dates based on when the crime occurred rather than when it was reported. In this case, the incident spanned approximately five years, with no single confirmed date. Therefore, 1 April, the day of reporting, has been selected as the date of the incident, but the year selected is 2021, five years prior to the date of reporting. This has been used as the indicative incident date, recorded for documentation purposes only.
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 0
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
