Case Summary

A Hindu woman in Hyderabad, Telangana, was deceived into a relationship and marriage by a Muslim man named Nawaz, who falsely claimed to have converted to Hinduism. He falsely presented himself as Navadurga, a Hindu and lured the Hindu woman into marriage. He revealed his true identity on their wedding day itself, subjected her to gang rape by himself and his brothers, drugged her repeatedly to prevent resistance, pressured her to convert to Islam, sold her gold and property, and attempted to force her to eat beef. Nawaz had come to the victim's home as a prospective tenant. He cultivated a romantic relationship with her under the pretext of having converted to Hinduism, using this false claim to gain her trust and that of her family. On 28 July 2025, they were married. Before the marriage, Nawaz extracted approximately 16.5 lakh rupees from her. On the wedding day itself, he and his brothers subjected her to sexual assault. From that point forward, she was administered intoxicating substances regularly to keep her compliant and prevent her from resisting the abuse. Nawaz's family subjected her to sustained pressure to convert to Islam. Nawaz and his family kept blackmailing the victim using her obscene photos and videos, and threatened to kill her mother and rape her younger sister. She named Shahrukh, Sohail, Ismail, Reshma, and Nawaz’s sister, Nasima, as the persons involved in the crime. The victim said that she was converted to Islam after marriage and her name was changed to ‘Nazeera’. She was forced to eat beef and was not allowed to perform puja. At one point, Nawaz's sister told her that after triple talaq, she would be required to do halala before she could remarry Nawaz, presenting this as a religious requirement. She said that she has been subjected to consistent physical and mental torture by Nawaz and his family. She revealed that she was hit and her clothes were torn in front of others. Nawaz and his family defrauded the victim of a total of ₹25–30 lakhs and twelve tolas [a unit of weight used for gold in South Asia, approximately 140 grams] of her gold and her land. They also used her mobile phones and iPads without her consent. She was also forced to undergo an abortion in August 2021. Nawaz disappeared on 16 January 2026. The victim approached the Kukatpally police, who registered only a missing person case rather than taking strict action against the accused. In March 2026, Nawaz returned with a group of friends and threatened her. She stated that police had taken no action for two months despite her repeated complaints. She gave an exclusive interview to RTV [a Telugu television news channel], describing her ordeal, appealing for justice, and urging that no other girl be deceived as she had been.

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Why it is Hate Crime ?

The primary category for this case is "Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes". The sub-category for this case is "Man pretends to be Hindu". The tertiary category for this case is "Name changed", Raped and/or murdered after Hindu woman finds out real identity". 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. One other category for this case is "Forced conversion after marriage". The tertiary categories here are "Forced to eat beef" and "Forced to do Halala". 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 for this case 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. The other subcategory selected is- Leaves Hindu partner after 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. However, when the Hindu woman refuses to convert, the non-Hindu man ends the relationship or divorces the woman, as the case might be. 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 change her religious identity and upon her refusal, ends the relationship. Cases where the Hindu woman converts to Islam and does not file a complaint about the force, or threat after she refuses to convert to Islam, are not considered a part of the hate tracker. This case qualifies as a religiously motivated hate crime in which a Hindu woman in Hyderabad, Telangana was deceived into marriage by a Muslim man who falsely claimed to have converted to Hinduism, extracted significant financial assets from her, subjected her to gang rape on her wedding day, drugged her systematically to prevent resistance, pressured her to convert to Islam, and attempted to force her to consume beef. The perpetrator, Nawaz, constructed every element of his approach around the deliberate concealment of his Muslim identity and the deliberate targeting of a Hindu woman's religious trust. The false claim of conversion to Hinduism is the foundational religious marker of this case. Nawaz did not approach the victim as himself. He presented himself as a Hindu, knowing this would be the most effective way to gain the trust of a Hindu woman and her family. The fabrication was not a casual misrepresentation. It was a calculated religious deception constructed specifically to exploit the victim's Hindu identity and her family's religious sensibilities. Without this false claim, the relationship and the marriage would not have been possible. This act went beyond mere criminal behaviour; it was a calculated and malicious attack on her religious identity. By assuming a false Hindu identity, the Muslim perpetrator betrayed the woman's trust, manipulating her into a situation where he could coerce her into abandoning her faith. The grooming of the victim through sustained religious deception is the second religious marker. Nawaz cultivated the victim's trust over an extended period, maintaining the fiction of his Hindu convert identity throughout the relationship and into the marriage. The victim stated in her media interview that she had been deceived and manipulated, confirming her own recognition that the relationship was a constructed trap. The financial extraction of approximately sixteen and a half lakh rupees before the marriage reflects the depth of the trust he had manufactured and the calculated way in which he monetised that trust before revealing his true identity. The gang rape on the wedding day constitutes the most acute religious marker because it coincides precisely with the revelation of the perpetrator’s true identity. The violence did not occur randomly but immediately followed the moment when the false Hindu identity was discarded. This sequencing is critical: the act of sexual violence becomes inseparable from the assertion of the perpetrator’s real identity over the victim, who had entered the relationship under deception. The timing transforms the assault from an act of opportunistic brutality into one that carries symbolic meaning. It marks the transition from concealment to domination, where the exposure of identity is directly followed by extreme violence against a Hindu woman who had been misled into the relationship. In this context, the assault functions as an assertion of power at the exact moment of religious unmasking, making the identity shift central to understanding the nature of the crime. The systematic drugging of the victim is the fourth religious marker. Nawaz and his family administered intoxicating substances to the victim regularly to prevent her from resisting the abuse and the conversion pressure. The forced consumption of intoxicants is itself a violation of Hindu religious practice and personal dignity. Its use as a tool of compliance reflects the perpetrators' understanding that the victim's resistance was rooted in her Hindu identity and values, and that those values needed to be chemically suppressed in order for their campaign of domination to continue. The pressure to convert to Islam and the demand for halala are the fifth religious markers. Nawaz's family subjected the victim to sustained and explicit pressure to abandon her Hindu faith and convert to Islam. When she refused, she was beaten severely and subjected to further violence. Nawaz's sister told her explicitly that after triple talaq [instant Islamic divorce], she would be required to undergo halala [the practice requiring a divorced woman to marry and consummate a marriage with another man before remarrying her former husband] as a religious requirement. The presentation of halala as an obligation that the victim was required to fulfil reflects the perpetrators' determination to force the victim's submission to Islamic religious practice through violence and intimidation. The accused did not allow the Hindu victim to practise Hindu rituals. Moreover, the attempt to force the victim to consume beef is one of the most egregious religious markers. The cow holds a position of profound and unique sanctity in Hindu religious life and culture. The deliberate attempt to force a Hindu woman to eat beef was not a dietary preference or a cultural habit. It was a targeted act of religious desecration directed at the victim's Hindu identity, designed to compel her to violate one of the most fundamental religious boundaries of her faith. 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. Given that this case met the parameters of a religiously motivated hate crime, it was added to the hate crime database of the tracker.