Hindu women harassed, threatened and pressured to convert to Islam by Muslim man in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh
Bara Banki, Uttar Pradesh, India 
7 May, 2026
Case Summary
In the Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh, Hindu women were targeted by a Muslim man named Mohammad Faisal, who molested them and pressured them to convert to Islam and marry him. The incident took place in the Trilokpur area under the Masauli Police Station limits. According to the complaint filed by the victims’ brother, the accused, Faisal, son of Mohammad Azwar Ayaz Ansari, had been harassing his Hindu sisters for a long time. The complainant stated that in his absence, the accused would enter their house and pressure the women to abandon their faith and marry him. The complaint stated that the accused repeatedly attempted to force the Hindu sisters to convert to Islam and undergo nikah with him. The complaint further stated that when the victims resisted his demands, the accused threatened to circulate objectionable content on social media and threatened to kill them. Villagers stated that the accused belonged to a politically influential local family and had been receiving protection for a long time, which enabled him to continue intimidating and threatening the Hindu victims and their families. Following the complaint, the police registered a case against Mohammad Faisal, son of Mohammad Azwar Ayaz Ansari. The accused was arrested and produced before a court, following which he was sent to jail.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The primary category for this case is "Predatory Proselytisation". The sub-category selected for the case is "Harassment, threats and coercion for conversion". Harassment covers a wide range of behaviours of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour that demeans, humiliates, and intimidates a person, including threats and coercion. Harassment and threats, in this case, find their root on discriminatory grounds, which has the effect of nullifying a person’s rights or infringing upon his freedom to exercise his right specifically owing to the victim’s religious identity. Verbal and physical threats and psychological or physical harassment are often used against Hindu victims because they choose to practice their professed religion. Religious harassment also includes forced and involuntary conversions by harassment, threats or coercion. Coercion includes intimidatory tactics like force-feeding a Hindu victim beef to convert to another religion, forceful circumcision, etc. In several cases documented, non-Hindu perpetrators or those who harbour specific animosity towards Hinduism, harass victims simply based on their religious identity. Such cases often also include harassment to ensure the Hindu victim abandons his/her professed religion and adopts the religion of the perpetrator. Such cases, where Hindu victims are harassed to convert to the perpetrator’s religion, are rooted in animosity towards the victim’s religious identity and are therefore documented as religiously motivated hate crimes. The other primary category is "Attack not resulting in death", and the subcategory selected is "Attacked for opposing radicals or for trying to save the victim." In several cases, Hindus are attacked for opposing religiously motivated crimes being committed against a fellow Hindu or simply for voicing an opinion opposing radical elements, who either have in the past or continue to persecute Hindus. In such cases, the initial attack against the victim, against which the Hindu was trying to defend the victim, would also need to be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the initial crime itself was religiously motivated and the subsequent crime of attempting to save the victim or speaking against the radical elements ends up inviting a violent attack, it would also be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. This case was added to the tracker because Hindu women were subjected to sustained harassment, intimidation and pressure to convert to Islam and marry the accused, a Muslim man. The coercion was not limited to personal misconduct but directly targeted the religious identity of the victims. The demand that the women abandon their faith to enter a relationship demonstrated hostility towards their continued Hindu identity and freedom of conscience. Forced religious conversion violates an individual’s personal autonomy, dignity and fundamental right to freely profess, practise and preserve their religion without coercion or intimidation. In this case, the accused attempted to pressure the Hindu victims into giving up their faith through threats, harassment and fear, thereby attacking both their bodily autonomy and religious freedom simultaneously. Such acts amount to more than interpersonal abuse, as they specifically target individuals on the basis of their religious identity and seek to erase or alter that identity through coercive means. The use of intimidation and threats to compel Hindu women to renounce their faith constituted a hate-driven act directed against their religion and community, making the incident a clear instance of a religiously motivated hate crime. The use of threats, intimidation, and fear formed a clear pattern of coercive religious pressure. The victims were threatened with social humiliation and violence when they resisted conversion demands. Such conduct amounted to psychological harassment intended to break resistance and compel submission. The targeting of Hindu women through fear and coercion reflected a deliberate attempt to force religious conformity rather than respect individual choice. Moreover, the incident demonstrated how intimidation was used to silence opposition and isolate the victims. The accused continued to exert pressure despite resistance from the family, creating a fear-filled atmosphere within the household. Such acts were not isolated instances of harassment but part of a sustained attempt to dominate and control the victims by exploiting threats and social vulnerability. Additionally, the case highlighted how Hindu individuals opposing such coercion also became targets of intimidation. The continued threats directed at the family for resisting the accused’s actions reflected hostility not only towards the victims but also towards those attempting to protect them. This transformed the incident from ordinary harassment into a broader act of religiously motivated intimidation directed at Hindus resisting conversion pressure. Since the case involved coercion for religious conversion, threats, intimidation, and harassment directed at Hindu victims because they refused to abandon their faith, it was documented as a religiously motivated hate crime. Therefore, this case has been added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker. Disclaimer: Media reports stated that the accused had been harassing the victim’s sisters and pressuring them to convert and marry him; however, the exact number of victims was not specified in the reports. Therefore, the victim count has been recorded as unknown. Further, the Hinduphobia Tracker records incident dates based on when the victim's ordeal began, rather than when the media reported it. In this case, the exact date of the incident was not specified; therefore, the date of publication of the media report, i.e., 8 May 2026, has been recorded for documentation purposes.
Case Status
Case sub-judice
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
