Minor Hindu girl lured by Muslim woman posing as a Hindu on Instagram, abducted and forced into a same-sex marriage
Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India 
4 April, 2026
Case Summary
Kanpur Police recovered a Hindu minor girl who had gone missing from the Saadh police station area and arrested a 21-year-old Muslim woman named Roomana Khatun from West Bengal. Roomana is divorced and had trapped the girl in a lesbian relationship by hiding her religious identity and using the Hindu name “Navya.” She then abducted the girl and took her to West Bengal. The accused woman reportedly filled the Hindu girl’s maang (hair parting) with blood, evidence of which was found by the police on her mobile phone. The incident dates back to 5 April 202, 6when the minor girl suddenly went missing. During the investigation, the police tracked the accused to South Dinajpur in West Bengal using mobile location data. Upon learning of police movements, Roomana was reportedly planning to flee to Gurugram with the girl, but the police apprehended her at the Central Station. According to the police, Roomana had lured the minor under the pretext of a same-sex relationship. The girl was recovered and safely handed over to her family, and the accused was sent to jail. During interrogation, the accused, Roomana, disclosed key details about the case. The station in charge stated that she had misled the minor and influenced her to flee. Reports indicate that the two had initially connected through Instagram, which facilitated the contact leading up to the incident.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The incident has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Predatory Proselytisation. Within this, the subcategory selected is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. Religious brainwashing essentially means the often subtle and forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up their religious beliefs to accept contrasting regimented ideas. Religious grooming or brainwashing also involves propaganda and manipulation. It involves the systematic effort, driven by religious malice and indoctrination, to persuade “non-believers’ to accept allegiance, command, or doctrine to and of a contrasting faith. Cases of such grooming or brainwashing are far more nuanced than direct threats, coercion, inducement and violence. In such cases, it is often seen that there is repeated, subtle and continual manipulation of the victim to induce disaffection towards their own faith and acceptance of the contrasting faith of the perpetrator. While subtle indoctrination is widely acknowledged as predatory, an element which is often understated in such conversions or the attempts of such conversion is the role of loyalty and trust which might develop between the perpetrator and the victim. Fiduciary relationships are often abused to affect such religious conversion. For example, an educator transmitting religious doctrine of a competing faith to a Hindu student. The Hindu student is likely to accept what the teacher is transmitting owing to existence of the fiduciary relationship. The exploitation of the fiduciary relationship to religiously indoctrinate victims would also be included in this category. Since the underlying animosity towards the victim’s faith forms the basis of predatory proselytization, such cases are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. The religious motive of the incident is evident from the fact that the accused concealed her real identity and approached the minor Hindu victim under a false Hindu name. This act of misrepresentation is not incidental but a deliberate tactic used to gain the victim’s trust by aligning with her religious identity. By presenting herself as a Hindu, the accused was able to bypass natural social and cultural boundaries, which indicates a calculated effort to target the victim under false pretences. Further, the process of building contact through social media and gradually influencing the minor reflects a pattern of grooming and manipulation. Given that the victim was a minor, this approach ensured that she was more susceptible to emotional influence and less capable of recognising the deception. The use of a false identity in such a context is significant, as it shows that the accused relied on religious identity as a tool to establish credibility and control. The subsequent act of taking the victim away from her familiar environment and placing her in a situation where her autonomy was restricted demonstrates that the initial deception was part of a larger, premeditated design. The progression from identity concealment to grooming and eventual control indicates that the objective was not merely personal interaction but sustained influence over the victim’s choices and circumstances. In cases like these, the tactic of adopting a false religious identity to approach and manipulate a Hindu minor is not just an act of individual wrongdoing but reflects a pattern where religious identity is deliberately used as a means of access and control. Such actions show a disregard for the victim’s background and exploit her trust in ways that would not have been possible without this misrepresentation. It is this combination of deception, grooming, and exploitation of vulnerability that defines the nature of the act, which is why this case has been added under predatory proselytisation in the tracker. Disclaimer on Incident Date: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incident dates based on when the offence first occurred rather than when it was reported or acted upon. In this case, the victim was reported missing on 5 April, which marks the earliest confirmed point at which the incident came into effect. As the precise date of initial contact and grooming is not available, 5 April, 2026 has been recorded as the incident date to reflect the beginning of the offence as established from available information.
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
female
Sources 
