7-year-old Hindu girl abducted after parents shot dead, forcefully married and brutally raped, force fed beef on Navratri in Sindh, Pakistan

Case ID : 30a9109 | Location : Ghotki, Sindh, Pakistan | Date of Incident : Wed, 5 October, 2022

Case ID : 30a9109

Ghotki, Sindh, Pakistan

5 October, 2022

7-year-old Hindu girl abducted after parents shot dead, forcefully married and brutally raped, force fed beef on Navratri in Sindh, Pakistan

Predatory Proselytisation

Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination

Conversion of minor

Rape and sexual assault/harassment

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

Sapna Kohli (name changed), a Hindu minor girl from Ghotki district in Sindh, Pakistan, was orphaned and subsequently abducted from her home by notorious Islamic cleric Mian Abdul Haq, commonly known as Mian Mithu. She was 7 years old in 2022 when Mian Mithu identified her. After her abduction, she was handed over to Mian Mithu's son, where she was subjected to severe physical and sexual abuse. The victim was repeatedly raped, hung upside down, and forced to consume raw beef during the days of Navratri. The abuse reportedly continued for approximately ten days, during which she underwent immense torture and mistreatment. After this, she was abandoned on the streets. The victim was later located and rescued by a team led by Hindu activist Nikhil Chandwani and was subsequently brought to a rehabilitation camp in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, where she received shelter and assistance. The Hindu activist took to social media to narrate the victim's ordeal. He confirmed that Sapna Kohli was born in the year 2015 in Sindh's Ghotki district to a devout Hindu family. Her parents were devoted worshippers of Maa Durga and regularly observed Hindu festivals, including Navratri. Chandwani stated that Mian Mithu had marked Sapna for conversion from the day she was born and kept records relating to her before she was ultimately targeted in 2022, when she turned 7. The Islamic cleric got information from her school that she would be taking leave for Navratri. In the month of October or November, Mian Mithu got Sapna's parents shot in broad daylight, abducted her from her home and brought her to Barchundi Sharof Dargah, led by him. Upon arrival, she was bathed in ice-cold water by burqa-clad women, forcibly married, and then sent to the custody of Mian Mithu's son. During her captivity, she was hung upside down, brutally beaten, and forced to consume raw beef during the days of Navratri, a period regarded as extremely sacred by Hindus. The abuse continued for approximately ten days, during which she endured sustained torture and humiliation. After days of captivity and abuse, the victim was abandoned on the streets. She was later located and rescued by a team led by Hindu activist Nikhil Chandwani and brought to a rehabilitation camp in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, where she received shelter, care, and assistance. The case attracted additional attention because of the role attributed to Mian Mithu. Mian Abdul Haq, commonly known as Mian Mithu, is the Pir of Dargah Bharchundi and an influential political and religious figure in Ghotki. Mithoo contested elections on the PPP ticket and served as a member of parliament from 2008 to 2013. He was later courted by the ruling party, PTI, as well, and is supposedly close to both the prime minister, Imran Khan, and the military chief, Qamar Javed Bajwa. Mithoo, whose name routinely comes up in the cases of abduction and forced conversion of underage Hindu girls, shot to the limelight in 2012 when he abetted the abduction of a teenage Rinkie Kumari, her conversion to Islam and marriage to an older Muslim male. In 2019, Mithu came to notice for leading a rioting mob in the Ghotki district in Sindh. The riot was engineered over allegations of blasphemy against a Hindu school principal. Hindu temples, the principal’s house and several houses of Hindus were set on fire by the mob, egged on by Mithu. According to reports, Mian Mithu has been responsible for over 1,000 abductions, rape and conversions of minor Hindu and other religious minority girls in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Notably, Mian Abdul Haq Mithu has also been sanctioned by the UK over allegations of forced conversions. Just Earth News (JEN) reported that he is so notorious in helping predatory men against innocent Hindu girls that he has been labelled as a “conversion factory”.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Predatory Proselytisation. Under this, the subcategory selected is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination, and within this, the tertiary categories elected are- Conversion of minor, rape and sexual assault/harassment. 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 other category selected is- Attack not resulting in death. Under this, 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. This case constitutes a religiously motivated hate crime because the victim was targeted as a Hindu girl and subjected to a sustained pattern of abuse that combined abduction, forced marriage, sexual violence, religious humiliation, and coercive control. The incident was not limited to physical violence against the victim. It involved attempts to strip her of her dignity, identity, and connection to her faith. A significant aspect of the case is the role attributed to Mian Mithoo, a figure whose name has repeatedly surfaced in cases involving the abduction and conversion of Hindu girls in Sindh. The victim was taken to Bharchundi Sharif Dargah before being handed over to Mian Mithoo's son. The involvement of a religious institution and an individual long associated with conversion-related controversies gives the incident a clear religious dimension that extends beyond ordinary criminal conduct. Another important aspect here is that the Hindu victim was a minor, indicating a lack of consent and a genuine change of conscience. It is a well-established fact that children are more susceptible to manipulation since they are still developing emotionally, cognitively, and socially. Their brains are not fully mature, making them more vulnerable to influence and less capable of critically evaluating information. Consequently, cases involving religious manipulation of minors not only represent an infringement on an individual's religious freedom but also demonstrate a calculated strategy of targeting those who are less able to resist or understand the long-term implications of conversion. The victim was rendered vulnerable after the killing of her parents and was then removed from her home and support system. Once isolated from her family and community, she was placed in circumstances where resistance became extremely difficult. Such isolation is significant because it deprives victims of emotional support, protection, and the ability to seek help, making them more susceptible to control and coercion. The religious nature of the abuse is further evident from the treatment inflicted upon the victim during captivity. According to her account, she was forced to consume raw beef during Navratri, one of the most sacred periods in the Hindu religious calendar. For Hindus, the cow holds profound religious significance, and Navratri is a period of devotion, prayer, and observance. Forcing a Hindu girl to consume beef during such a period cannot be viewed as a random act of cruelty. It carried an element of deliberate religious humiliation directed at beliefs and practices that were central to the victim's faith and upbringing. The victim was also subjected to repeated sexual violence and physical torture while being held captive. These acts served not only to inflict suffering but also to break her will and reinforce the control exercised over her. When viewed alongside the forced marriage, the involvement of individuals associated with conversion activities, and the religiously degrading treatment she endured, the abuse appears to have been directed not merely at the victim as an individual but at her identity as a Hindu girl. The broader context is also relevant. Pakistan's Hindu minority has long faced documented patterns of abduction, forced conversion, forced marriage, sexual violence, and religious persecution. Human rights organisations, minority rights advocates, and international observers have repeatedly highlighted the vulnerability of Hindu girls in Sindh to such abuses. The circumstances of this case closely mirror many of those documented patterns. The cumulative facts indicate that the victim's Hindu identity was not incidental to the offence. It formed a central element of her targeting, the abuse inflicted upon her, and the methods used to dominate and degrade her. For these reasons, the incident qualifies as a religiously motivated hate crime and warrants inclusion in the Hinduphobia Tracker.