Hindu minor girl deceived into a relationship by a Muslim man posing as Hindu; raped, forced into nikah and subjected to caste based abuses
Faridabad, Haryana, India 
21 June, 2018
Case Summary
A Hindu woman from Ballabhgarh in Faridabad, Haryana, endured years of abuse after being deceived into a relationship by a Muslim man who concealed his identity to trap her. She was sexually and physically assaulted, forced into nikah and subjected to caste abuse. Her ordeal started when she was a minor. The Hindu woman stated that in 2018, when she was admitted to Class XI at a school in Faridabad, a female classmate approached her and struck up a conversation with her. Shortly afterwards, she was taken away in a vehicle where she met a man who introduced himself as "Veer". She later discovered that his real name was Arif Khan, a Muslim man from Ballabhgarh whose father was identified as Badam Khan and whose family hailed from Mewat. She stated that after being taken away, she was first taken to a hotel where videos of her were recorded. She was then taken to Mewat and kept away from her family. During this period, her family filed a missing persons complaint after she failed to return home from school. The Hindu woman stated that in 2019, Arif Khan performed a nikah with her and began subjecting her to continuous abuse. She said that only after the marriage did she discover that the man who had introduced himself as "Veer" was, in fact, Arif Khan, already married and the father of three children. She stated that after taking her to his home, he began physically assaulting and abusing her. She further stated that Arif Khan forced her into sexual relations with his brothers and brothers-in-law against her will. She said she was repeatedly assaulted, subjected to degrading treatment and kept in inhumane conditions inside the house. She stated that she suffered two forced abortions and was also made to undergo an operation that deprived her of the ability to become a mother. The Hindu woman stated that whenever she tried to escape or approach the police, the matter was dismissed as a dispute between husband and wife, and she was sent back to Arif Khan's household. She said that she repeatedly attempted to leave and seek help but was continuously returned to the same environment where the abuse persisted. She further stated that members of Arif Khan's family physically assaulted her and subjected her to caste abuse by calling her "Chamari". According to her, she was regularly beaten and verbally abused by Arif Khan, his wife Shabnam Khan, and other family members. She stated that she eventually managed to escape and approached the Adarsh Nagar Police Station in Ballabhgarh. Following her complaint, a case was registered, and Arif Khan was sent to jail for about 7 to 8 months. However, she stated that after his release on bail, he resumed the same pattern of abuse and intimidation. The Hindu woman stated that on 19th June 2025, she again approached the police to seek registration of a First Information Report. According to her, she was told that since Arif Khan was her husband, he had the right to beat her and would continue to do so throughout his life. She further stated that on 18th June 2025, she was assaulted again by members of Arif Khan's family. She identified the perpetrators as Shabnam Khan, Arif Khan's sons, Ayan Khan, Farhan Khan, Ahil Khan, and his brother, Imran Khan. She stated that the assault began after Arif Khan took away her vehicle and refused to return it. According to the Hindu woman, when she went to the family's residence to recover her vehicle, she was pulled inside the gate, beaten with kicks and punches, subjected to caste abuse, and physically assaulted by the family members. She stated that her clothes were torn during the assault and that she was touched inappropriately by Ayan Khan and other family members. She further stated that she repeatedly called the emergency number 112 but did not receive immediate assistance. She also stated that Arif Khan threatened her over the phone, saying that if he came to the locality, he would publicly chase and beat her in front of everyone. According to her, she possessed recordings of these threats. The Hindu woman further stated that after she sought assistance from Hindu activist Bittu Bajrangi, she continued to receive threats from Arif Khan, who warned her that joining hands with the activist would not help her. Bittu Bajrangi stated that the woman had approached him several months earlier seeking assistance and that she again contacted him after the recent assault. He stated that she feared for her safety because the perpetrators were out on bail, and that he had submitted a complaint to the police and raised the matter before officials. At the time the case came to public attention, the Hindu woman stated that no fresh First Information Report had been registered regarding the recent assault despite her complaint. Police officials had recorded her statement and assured her that action would be taken. The earlier criminal proceedings arising from her previous complaint remained pending, and the Hindu woman continued to seek protection and legal action against Arif Khan and his family.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of - Predatory Proselytisation. Within it, the sub-category selected is - Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. Under this, the tertiary categories are Conversion of minor, Rape and sexual assault/harassment, and Victim says she was brainwashed/groomed. 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. Another sub-category selected is Harassments, threats, 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 second primary category selected here is - Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. Within it, the sub-category selected is - Man pretends to be Hindu. Under this, 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 malafide 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. Another sub-category selected here is - Brainwashed and/or groomed, with the tertiary categories being - Conversion of minor, Rape and sexual assault/harassment, and Victim says she was brainwashed/groomed. In our database, we have not added incidents where women have converted to another religion of their free will and no allegations of forced/involuntary conversion have been made. However, there are certain cases of conversion where the consent itself is a result of the brainwashing or grooming of a minor by the non-Hindu perpetrator trying to victimise a woman for her Hindu religious identity. The phenomenon of grooming points to non-Hindu perpetrators identifying their Hindu victims’ vulnerabilities and exploiting them over months and sometimes years, to extract the supposed ‘consent’ in order to convert their religion. In most cases of grooming, the victims are minors or the grooming started when the victim was a minor. In other cases of grooming, the non-Hindu perpetrator brainwashes and grooms a minor victim to extract their trust and then proceeds to rape them repeatedly with the intent of converting them to their faith. It is pertinent to understand here that when the victim is a minor, the ‘consent’ to convert or enter into a romantic relationship with an adult itself is redundant – addressed by POCSO. While every case of conversion of a minor and incidents of establishing a physical relationship with a minor by an adult is a crime, for the purpose of this database, a case would be considered a hate crime only if there is a distinct religious angle to the grooming. For example, in the UK, if a Hindu minor is targeted by Pakistani grooming gangs, it would be considered a hate crime because the victims are specifically targeted owing to their non-Muslim religious identity with the perpetrators being Muslim. In other cases, if a Hindu minor is brainwashed into entering a physical relationship with the non-Hindu adult perpetrator and the family alleges grooming/brainwashing of the minor to convert her religion, it would form a part of this database. If the victim is a Hindu adult, the case would form a part of this database only if the victim herself says that she was brainwashed/groomed to convert her religion. However, if the victim is deceased (murdered or otherwise), the case would form a part of this database if her family/friends provided testimony that the victim was brainwashed/groomed to convert her religion. Since these crimes have a distinct religious angle where the victim is being targeted owing to her Hindu religious identity, these cases are considered a hate crime. The other subcategory selected here is - Forced conversion before marriage. Within this, the tertiary category selected is - Forced to do Nikah. In such cases, a non-Hindu man is in a relationship with a Hindu woman when the pressure to convert her religion begins to manifest. 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, however, at some point during the relationship, the non-Hindu man starts to force the victim to convert her religion and give up her Hindu religious identity. 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 her religion and give up her religious identity. In both the situations, the methods used to force the victim to convert her religion often revolve around force-feeding beef, forcing her to wear hijab, forcing her to read the Kalma or even pressurizing the victim to do ‘Nikah’, which is marriage under Islamic law, with a prerequisite being conversion to Islam. Cases where a Hindu woman consensually converts to Islam in a relationship will be left out of the hate crime database, even though it could be argued in several cases that the conversion was a result of religious brainwashing. The third category selected is- Hate speech against Hindus. Within this, the subcategory selected is- Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith. Anti-Hindu slurs and the deliberate mocking of the Hindu faith owing to religious animosity involve the usage of derogatory terms, stereotypes, or offensive references to religious practices, symbols, or figures. One of the common anti-Hindu slurs used against Hindus is “cow-worshipper” and “cow piss drinker”. The intention of using this term is to demean and mock Hindus as a group and their religious beliefs since Hindus consider the cow holy. Additionally, some symbols and the slurs attached to them have a historical context that exacerbates the insult, hate, stereotyping, dehumanisation and oppression against Hindus. Cow worship has been used for centuries to denigrate Hindus, insult their faith and oppress Hindus specifically as a religious group. There has been overwhelming documentation about how cow slaughter has been used to persecute Hindus with cow meat being thrown in temples and places of worship. There has also been overwhelming documentation where cow meat (beef) has been force-fed to Hindus to either forcefully convert them to Islam or denigrate their faith. Apart from cow worship, the Swastika – which holds deep religious significance for the Hindus – has also been misinterpreted and distorted to use as a slur against Hindus. Similarly, the worship of the Shivling has been used by supremacist ideologies and religions to denigrate Hindus owing to religious animosity. Such slurs and denigration stem out of inherent animosity and hate towards Hindus and their faith, therefore, it is categorised as hate speech targeted at Hindus specifically owing to their religious identity. This incident warrants inclusion in the database due to the presence of multiple religious markers. The victim stated that she was introduced to a man who feigned a Hindu identity to secure friendship. This itself is a clear manifestation of bias and malicious intent towards the victim's religion. By concealing his true identity, he exploited her trust, targeting her under false pretences. This indicates a premeditated intent to manipulate her based on her religious background. In cases like these, the tactic of adopting a false Hindu identity to manipulate and "ensnare" a Hindu individual is not just an act of personal betrayal but can also be interpreted as an expression of disdain or disregard for Hinduism and its customs that reflects a deeper animosity towards Hindus and their beliefs The victim's age at the time of the initial contact is particularly significant. She was a minor studying in Class 11 when she was approached, making her especially vulnerable to manipulation, deception, and emotional influence. In children, the element of consent and genuine change of conscience is missing ab initio. Minors, due to their young age and lack of maturity, are particularly vulnerable to manipulation and coercion. They may not have the ability to fully understand the implications of converting to another religion, and the Muslim perpetrator purposely targeted and exploited this vulnerability of the victim. The victim's account further establishes that the relationship was sustained through prolonged exploitation and coercion. She stated that she was taken away from her family, moved from place to place, and subjected to continuous abuse after discovering the perpetrator's true identity. According to her account, she was beaten, verbally abused, and repeatedly subjected to sexual violence over a period of years. The sustained nature of this abuse demonstrates a pattern of domination and control that extended far beyond a personal relationship and instead involved the complete subjugation of the victim's autonomy and ability to leave her circumstances. Once the victim was isolated and left vulnerable, she was forced to undergo nikah (an Islamic marriage). This is not just a personal request but a coercive attempt to strip her of her religious identity. The religious hostility underlying the conduct became even more apparent through the repeated use of caste-based abuse directed at the victim. She stated that she was repeatedly called "Chamari" by Arif Khan and members of his family during acts of violence and intimidation. The use of this term was significant because it specifically targeted her identity as a Hindu Dalit woman. It can be argued that a caste-specific slur is aimed at her micro identity of belonging to the Dalit section of the Hindu community and not her Hindu identity itself. However, in the Abrahamic religions, the micro-identities of caste, region, and language are secondary. It is the religious identity that drives the animosity of the perpetrator against the Hindu victim. In this case, while Qadir hurled caste abuses at the victim, the animosity was driven by his animosity towards Hinduism and Hindus. While the immediate trigger of the violence could be the "love triangle" as mentioned in reports, the fact that caste slurs were hurled at the victim by the perpetrator makes it a religiously motivated hate crime against the victim. Taken together, the grooming of a Hindu minor through identity deception, the prolonged exploitation extending into adulthood, the sustained sexual violence, the coercive control exercised over the victim for many years, the pressure to undergo nikah, repeated use of caste-based slurs targeting her identity as a Hindu Dalit woman, and the collective participation of multiple family members in acts of violence and humiliation demonstrate a clear pattern of religiously motivated targeting. The victim was not selected at random. Her identity as a Hindu girl was central to the abuse and degradation she experienced. Moreover, it was the underlying hatred and animosity for Hindus that drove these acts, serving as a means to subjugate and victimise the victim. As a result, this case is classified as a religiously motivated hate crime and has been documented accordingly. Disclaimer: The exact date of when the Hindu girl and the Muslim perpetrator first came into contact was not specified in the available sources. However, the year of initial contact was estimated to be around 2018. The tracker records incident dates based on when the crime occurred rather than when it was reported or published. In this case, 22nd June 2018 has been used as the indicative incident date, derived by aligning the known year with the source publication date of 22nd June 2026. This date has been recorded for documentation purposes only.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 1
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 1
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 0
Age Group
- Minor 1
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 5 to 10
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
