Hindu woman lured into relationship and married by a Muslim man posing as Hindu; threatened to convert to Islam and consume beef post marriage
Ulhasnagar, Maharashtra, India 
18 May, 2026
Case Summary
In Ulhasnagar in Maharashtra’s Thane district, a Hindu woman was deceived into a relationship and marriage by a Muslim man posing as a Hindu. The accused, named Imran Sheikh, introduced himself to the victim as a Hindu man named “Vijay Verma”. Upon marriage, the woman was forced to convert, perform Islamic practices and consume beef against her wishes. According to the victim’s complaint, the perpetrator developed close relations with her while posing as a Hindu. After marrying her, he took her to his village in Bihar, where she came to know that his real name was Imran Sheikh and that he was a Muslim. The victim stated that after reaching Bihar, pressure was exerted upon her to adopt Islamic customs and convert to Islam. She stated in her complaint that she was forced to wear a burqa and hijab and was pressured to consume beef against her wishes. She also stated that whenever she opposed the pressure for conversion and Islamic practices, she was brutally beaten and subjected to harassment. The Hindu woman further stated that Imran Sheikh and his family members made insulting remarks against Hindu deities, due to which she remained mentally distressed. Unable to bear the pressure and harassment, the woman approached the police and filed a complaint regarding concealment of identity, forced religious practices, and pressure to convert. Following her complaint, the Central Police Station in Ulhasnagar registered a case in the matter and arrested three individuals, including the main accused, Imran Sheikh.
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 category selected is- 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 malicious 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. The other sub-category selected is - Forced conversion after marriage, with the tertiary category being - Forced to wear hijab and 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 party is 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 to his 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 to his religion and give up her religious identity. In both situations, there is the 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, being 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 selected 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 pressurising 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- Desecration of Hindu symbols in relationship. When Hindu women are in a relationship with non-Hindu men, there are cases where the woman faces insult and desecration of her faith (Hinduism) and its symbol because of the inherent disregard for polytheism of the non-Hindu partner. 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 desecrating the religious symbols of the Hindu partner out of spite for her faith. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. This case was added to the tracker because the Hindu woman was deliberately deceived about the religious identity of the man she entered into a relationship and marriage with. The concealment of identity was not incidental but formed the basis on which her trust was gained. By presenting himself as a Hindu man, the perpetrator ensured that the victim entered the relationship believing that there was no religious difference between them. The later revelation of his real identity, followed by pressure to abandon her own faith, showed that the deception had a clear religious dimension from the beginning. Thereafter, the relationship became a means through which sustained pressure was exerted upon the victim to distance herself from her Hindu identity and adopt Islamic practices. The insistence on wearing a burqa and hijab, along with the pressure to consume beef against her wishes, directly targeted practices and beliefs closely tied to her Hindu faith. For many Hindus, the cow holds deep religious significance, and forcing or pressuring a Hindu woman to consume beef is not merely personal coercion but an act that attacks her religious beliefs and cultural identity. Similarly, imposing Islamic attire upon her against her wishes symbolised an attempt to erase her visible Hindu identity and replace it with another religious identity. Further, the insulting remarks made against Hindu deities intensified the religious nature of the abuse. Such conduct was not casual or incidental. It reflected contempt towards the faith practised by the victim and created an atmosphere where her religious identity was constantly humiliated and degraded. The repeated denigration of Hindu beliefs while simultaneously pressuring the victim to adopt another religion demonstrated clear hostility towards Hinduism itself. Moreover, the violence inflicted upon the victim when she resisted these pressures revealed the coercive nature of the relationship. The physical assault and harassment were not isolated acts of domestic abuse occurring independently of the religious pressure. Instead, the violence operated as a tool to silence resistance and force compliance with demands that she abandon her Hindu identity and follow imposed religious practices. The use of intimidation and brutality to compel religious conformity made the targeting even more severe. Taken together, the deception regarding identity, the pressure to give up Hindu practices, the forced imposition of Islamic customs, the insults directed at Hindu deities, and the violence used to enforce compliance demonstrated a sustained attempt to isolate the victim from her faith and erase her Hindu identity. Since the victim was specifically targeted as a Hindu woman and subjected to coercion aimed at changing her religious identity, this case was documented as a religiously motivated hate crime in the Hinduphobia Tracker. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incident dates based on when the victim's ordeal began, rather than when the media reported it. In this case, none of the media reports mentioned when the victim's ordeal began; therefore, the publication date, 19 May 2026, has been recorded as the indicative incident date for documentation purposes.
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 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 1
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
