Case Summary

In Harsiddhi, East Champaran district of Bihar, a Hindu man named Ajay Patel was brutally killed by the husband of his Muslim girlfriend after being in an interfaith relationship with her. Even the Muslim woman, the so-called girlfriend, supported her husband in murdering Ajay. According to reports, the deceased victim, Ajay, worked as a tailor in Ludhiana and had returned to his village on 6th May 2026. He was in a romantic relationship with Tabbu Khatoon, a Muslim woman and the wife of Aslam Mian. Photos and videos linked to the two had gone viral. According to the police, when Aslam discovered the relationship, he became enraged and had been planning Ajay’s murder for around two months while staying in Nepal. On the night of 9th May 2026, Ajay’s body was found hanging inside a cattle shed near a canal-side shelter in the Math Lohiyan Chhatwaniya locality under the Harsiddhi police station area. The discovery of the body triggered panic among locals. According to the police, Ajay was first brutally assaulted and murdered. Later, the accused hanged his body with a noose in an attempt to make the murder appear as a suicide. Officials stated that injuries were found on the deceased’s body, while blood stains were also recovered from Tabbu’s house. The incident came to light on 10th May 2026, when the East Champaran Police stated that they had solved the murder within hours and arrested Tabbu Khatoon for orchestrating it. Her husband, Aslam Mian, remained absconding. Addressing the media, Areraj Deputy Superintendent of Police Ravi Kumar stated that Tabbu Khatoon was arrested as the main conspirator in the case. According to the police, on the day of the incident, Aslam and his Muslim associates attacked Ajay and later hanged his body in the cowshed to mislead investigators. The entire murder was orchestrated by Tabbu. Police recovered pieces of the rope used for hanging, a mobile phone, slippers belonging to the deceased, and other evidence from the spot. The Forensic Science Laboratory team and dog squad were also deployed during the investigation. A complaint was filed by the victim’s mother, Prema Devi, leading to a First Information Report against eight Muslim perpetrators. Reports suggested that Tabbu was one of Aslam’s two wives. He had four children with his first wife and two with Tabbu. While Tabbu was arrested, the other perpetrators remained absconding.

Case Images

Why it is Hate Crime ?

The first primary category selected in this case is- Men attacked for being associated with non-Hindu women. Within this, the subcategory selected is - Attacked/killed for being associated or suspicion of being associated with Muslim woman. There have been several cases documented of Hindu men/boys being attacked specifically by Muslim groups/mobs for merely being associated or suspicion of being associated or being seen with a Muslim woman in public. In most of such cases, the Hindu man is not in a relationship with the Muslim woman, however, the mob proceeds to threaten and/or assault the Hindu man for merely being associated with the Muslim woman in any capacity. The rise of such crimes stems from a particularly sinister campaign run by several Muslim ideologues and activists. The campaign claims that Hindu men are attempting to ‘lure’ Muslim women into relationships to ensure that Muslim women leave their faith and follow Hinduism. The propaganda has been spearheaded with the help of WhatsApp groups and the extensive use of social media, sans evidence of the same. In many cases, pamphlets were fabricated to lend credence to this campaign. The root of this campaign lies in the fact that several cases of sectarian crimes against Hindu women in relationships with Muslim men have been documented. In such cases, Hindu women have often been forced/pressured to convert to Islam, assaulted, threatened and even murdered owing specifically to their religious identity and their refusal to give up that religious identity to adopt Islam. To delegitimize the suffering of Hindu women when such sectarian crimes are committed against them, the theory of ‘Bhagwa Love Trap’ was floated by sections of the Muslim community. As this theory gained traction, Muslim mobs started targeting Hindu men who were seen with Muslim women. In several such cases, the Hindu man was assaulted merely for offering to drop a Muslim woman in his vehicle or being friends. The differentiating factor between such cases and legitimate cases of Hindu women being targeted while in a relationship with Muslim men is that there is no sectarian violence, and force/pressure to convert. The nature of sectarian violence against Hindu women is not about two adults in a consensual relationship, working together, studying together, or even marrying each other where religious considerations are declared. In this category of crimes, it is pertinent to remember that in none of the cases, there is an element of the Hindu man masking his identity or forced religious conversion. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. The other subcategory selected is- Attacked by non-Hindu partner and/or her family. When Hindu men are in a relationship with non-Hindu women, there are cases where the man is forced to convert his religion and upon his refusal to do so, the partner or/and her family attacks the victim. Such relationships may be consensual with the religious identity of the non-Hindu woman known to the victim. Somewhere along the relationship, the non-Hindu woman or her family starts forcing/pressurizing the Hindu man to convert. In some of these cases, the association could be non-consensual as well or, the religious identity of the non-Hindu woman could be previously unknown to the Hindu victim. In such cases, the Hindu man is first forced/pressurized to change his religion by the non-Hindu woman or her family. The force/pressure could involve threats. The trigger for directing violence against the Hindu man is in these cases his refusal to comply and change his religion under threat and/or force. In other cases that have been documented, it is also seen that the Hindu partner is assaulted by the non-Hindu woman or her family simply for his relationship with the non-Hindu woman and by virtue of him following the Hindu faith and not the religion of the non-Hindu woman. In such cases, the relationship is consensual in most cases and the religion of both partners is known to the other. Often, in such cases, there is no direct force/pressure to convert either, however, the attack is a result of the Hindu man being in a relationship with the non-Hindu partner and not following her religion/following Hinduism specifically. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. The second primary category selected is- Attack resulting in death. The subcategory selected is- Attacked for Hindu identity. In several cases, Hindus are attacked merely for their Hindu identity without any perceived provocation. A classic example of this category of religiously motivated hate crime is a murder in 2016. 7 ISIS terrorists were convicted for shooting a school principal in Kanpur because they got ‘triggered’ seeing the Kalava on his wrist and tilak that he had put. In this, the Hindu victim had offered no provocation except for his Hindu religious identity. The motivation for the murder was purely religious, driven by religious supremacy. Such cases where Hindus are targeted merely for their religious identity would be documented as a hate crime. Under this category, cases where the attack led to the death of the Hindu victim/s would be documented. In this case, a Hindu man named Ajay Patel was brutally murdered after being in a relationship with a Muslim woman named Tabbu Khatoon, who was already married to Aslam Mian. Police stated that Ajay was first assaulted and killed, after which his body was hanged inside a cattle shed to make the murder appear as a suicide. Since the accused did not explicitly state that the crime was committed because of the Muslim woman being in an "interfaith relationship" or because Ajay was Hindu, some may argue that the murder was not religiously motivated and therefore should not be included in this tracker. Some may also argue that the murder stemmed purely from infidelity or adultery rather than religious hostility. However, if the motive had solely been infidelity, then Tabbu Khatoon, who was married to Aslam Mian and therefore equally involved in the relationship, would also likely have faced similar violence from her husband. Instead, Tabbu was not harmed, and she actively participated in the murder of Ajay, while the Hindu man in the relationship was selectively targeted and brutally murdered. This selective targeting indicates that religious identity played a significant role in the crime and was one of the major reasons why the Hindu victim bore the brunt of the violence. Therefore, there are several factors that establish why this case warrants inclusion in the hate crime database. The first factor is the direct connection between the murder and the interfaith relationship. According to the police investigation, Aslam Mian became enraged after discovering the relationship between his Muslim wife and Ajay Patel, a Hindu man. Police further stated that he had been planning Ajay’s murder for nearly two months. This establishes that the relationship itself became the trigger for the crime. Since the relationship was between a Hindu man and a Muslim woman, religion became one of the central elements behind the hostility that culminated in the murder, even though the perpetrator didn't openly state it. The second important factor is the involvement of the Muslim woman herself in the crime. Police arrested Tabbu Khatoon as the main conspirator and stated that the murder was orchestrated by her. This demonstrates that the murder was not merely an isolated act committed in sudden anger, but a planned act involving multiple accused, including the Muslim partner of the Hindu victim. In several cases where a Hindu man is involved in a consensual relationship with a Muslim woman, the Muslim woman’s family members or associates resort to violence because they disapprove of the relationship. Such cases are often described as 'honour killings', where the relationship is viewed as bringing dishonour to the family. These incidents are seen across communities and social groups; however, in interfaith cases involving a Hindu man and a Muslim woman, religion frequently becomes one of the primary points of hostility. In many such cases, the motive is openly articulated by the perpetrators or their families. In other cases, the exact motive is not explicitly stated in reports or police statements. However, even where explicit statements are absent, the surrounding circumstances help us to establish that the victim's religious identity did play a role in the crime. For the purpose of this tracker, cases are included where religion forms one of the determining factors behind the violence, particularly when the victim is Hindu and the hostility emerges from an interfaith relationship involving a Muslim woman. In Islamic doctrine, a Muslim woman marrying or being in a relationship with a non-Muslim man without conversion is considered impermissible. Consequently, relationships between Hindu men and Muslim women often face severe hostility within the Muslim community. In such circumstances, the Hindu identity of the man becomes one of the principal reasons for opposition to the relationship. Therefore, even if the perpetrators do not explicitly state religious motives, religion can still reasonably be understood as one of the determining factors behind the crime. In this case, Ajay Patel was targeted after his relationship with a Muslim woman came to light. Police stated that the accused husband became enraged over the relationship, planned the murder over a period of time, and later attempted to disguise the killing as suicide. The involvement of the Muslim woman in orchestrating the crime further strengthens the communal dimension of the incident. Such incidents, where Hindu men are attacked or murdered over relationships with Muslim women, stem from hostility towards the Hindu man because of his religious identity and his involvement in an interfaith relationship. In several such cases, Hindu men are targeted and brutally killed for transgressing religious boundaries by being in relationships with Muslim women, despite the relationships being entirely consensual, both individuals being adults, and both parties being fully aware of each other’s religious identity. The selective targeting of the Hindu man in such relationships showcases deep-seated hostility towards the victim’s Hindu identity, making such incidents clear cases of communal hate crimes motivated by anti-Hindu bigotry and hatred. Given that this case meets the parameters of a hate crime, it is being added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker.