Hindu woman lured into live-in relationship by Muslim man posing as Hindu; accused wore kalava and used fabricated name for deception

Case ID : 30a9319 | Location : Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Sun, 28 June, 2026

Case ID : 30a9319

Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India

28 June, 2026

Hindu woman lured into live-in relationship by Muslim man posing as Hindu; accused wore kalava and used fabricated name for deception

Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes

Man pretends to be Hindu

Name Changed

Wears symbols of Hinduism

Case Summary

A Hindu woman was lured into a relationship and made to live in a live-in relationship by a Muslim man, Shahid Ansari, posing as a Hindu by wearing a kalava (sacred Hindu thread) on his wrist in the Vijaynagar area of Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. The accused concealed his Muslim identity, introduced himself using a Hindu name, Sachin, and developed a relationship with the Hindu woman after the two met on Instagram. The matter came to light on 29 June 2026 when activists of a Hindu organisation reached the rented accommodation where the couple had been living together. According to available information, on the evening of 29 June 2026, Satyam Pandit, president of the Rashtriya Hindu Veer Sena, along with other members of the organisation, arrived at a rented room in the Vijaynagar area after receiving information about the couple. They found the Muslim man and the Hindu woman inside the room in a semi-nude state. The activists questioned the couple, during which the young man initially identified himself as "Sachin" and stated that they were friends who intended to solemnise their relationship through a court marriage. The activists then asked both individuals to produce their Aadhaar cards for verification. The identity documents revealed that the young man's name was actually Shahid Ansari, aged 19 years, while the Hindu woman's name was Khushboo, aged 20 years. Shahid Ansari's Aadhaar card recorded his date of birth as 30 September 2007, while Khushboo's Aadhaar card recorded her date of birth as 1 January 2006. During questioning, the Hindu woman stated that she had been living with Shahid Ansari in the rented accommodation for the past two months. According to Satyam Pandit, Shahid Ansari had concealed his Muslim identity from the Hindu woman by introducing himself as a Hindu and regularly wearing a kalava (sacred Hindu thread) on his wrist to reinforce the deception. The two had first become acquainted through Instagram, after which their conversations developed into a relationship. Hindu organisation members stated that Shahid Ansari had misrepresented his religious identity in order to establish a relationship with the Hindu woman. During the questioning, Satyam Pandit confronted Shahid Ansari regarding his identity and asked why he had concealed his religion and was living with a Hindu woman. Shahid Ansari claimed that the woman had entered the relationship willingly. When asked why he had not taken her to his family home, he stated that he had not yet informed his family about the relationship. The Hindu organisation immediately informed the police, who arrived at the scene shortly afterwards. Shahid Ansari was handed over to the police, and both individuals were taken to the Vijaynagar Police Station for questioning. Police also informed the Hindu woman's family about the matter and initiated further inquiry into the case.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

In this case, the primary category selected is: Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. The subcategory selected is: Man pretends to be Hindu. The tertiary categories selected are: Name Changed and Wears symbols of Hinduism. 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. In this case, the Hindu woman was deceived into a relationship and made to live in a live-in relationship by a Muslim man who posed as a Hindu by concealing his religious identity, introducing himself using a fabricated Hindu name, and wearing a kalava on his wrist. First, the perpetrator's act of deception by posing as a Hindu demonstrated bias and malicious intent towards the victim's religion. By hiding his true identity, Shahid Ansari manipulated the Hindu woman's trust and targeted her under false pretences, indicating a premeditated effort to exploit her based on her religious background. He introduced himself using a Hindu name and regularly wore a kalava (sacred Hindu thread) to reinforce the deception. This constituted a violation of the victim's right to make an informed decision regarding whom she chooses to be in a relationship with, as well as an infringement upon her religious beliefs. Thus, the accused's decision to conceal his Muslim identity underscored the religious motivation of this case. In such instances, identity concealment is not just a deceptive tactic for personal reasons but is a calculated strategy rooted in religious profiling and targeting. The accused knew that the victim, being Hindu, would most likely refuse to enter into a relationship had she known his real identity, and he circumvented this by concealing his religion and presenting himself as a Hindu. This deception reflects a broader pattern in which Hindu women are targeted through the concealment of religious identity by Muslim men. Such targeted victimisation based on religion demonstrates disregard for the victim's religious identity and beliefs, making the religious aspect of the deception central to this case. The accused's use of a kalava (sacred Hindu thread) as part of the deception also carries a distinct religious dimension. A kalava is a sacred thread traditionally tied during Hindu religious rituals and ceremonies as a symbol of divine blessings, faith, protection, and commitment to Dharma. It holds deep religious and cultural significance for Hindus and is regarded as a sacred emblem of Hindu identity and devotion. According to the available information, the accused regularly wore a kalava on his wrist while concealing his Muslim identity and presenting himself as a Hindu in order to gain the trust of the Hindu woman. The kalava was used solely as a tool to facilitate deception and induce the victim into a relationship under a false religious identity; it amounts to a misuse of a sacred Hindu religious symbol for personal gain. Such conduct undermines the sanctity and religious significance of the kalava by reducing a revered symbol of faith to an instrument of deception, thereby showing disregard for its sacred value and for the religious sentiments associated with it. Furthermore, the fact that the accused lured the Hindu woman into a live-in relationship after concealing his religious identity adds another dimension to the case. The couple lived together for around two months. Given that the relationship itself was initiated through the deliberate concealment of the accused's religious identity and the use of Hindu religious symbolism, the subsequent sexual exploitation cannot be viewed in isolation from the initial deception. Rather, the sexual exploitation forms part of the same course of conduct that began with the victim being specifically targeted as a Hindu woman through a fabricated religious identity. In this context, the sexual violation takes on a distinct religious dimension, as it followed an act of religious deception intended to gain the trust of a Hindu woman who would otherwise have declined the relationship. Although the victim stated that she had been living with the accused in the rented accommodation, this does not negate the significance of the deception that preceded the relationship. The accused initially introduced himself using a Hindu name and wore a kalava (sacred Hindu thread) to present himself as a Hindu. This deception indicates that the relationship began on the basis of a fabricated religious identity rather than informed consent. In cases where a victim is induced into a relationship through religious deception and later discovers the accused's true identity only after becoming emotionally, socially, or physically attached, it becomes significantly more difficult to leave the relationship. Consequently, the victim's subsequent decision to continue living with the accused does not negate the significance of the initial deception or the religious targeting. Viewed in this context, the concealment of religious identity and use of Hindu religious symbolism demonstrate manipulation specifically directed at the victim because she was Hindu. The Hinduphobia Tracker has previously documented several incidents in which Hindu women were lured into relationships by Muslim men using forged or concealed identities. In a number of documented cases, the relationship progressed to pressure for religious conversion or abandonment of the victim's Hindu faith. In several other cases, victims were subjected to violence or killed after refusing to convert to Islam. According to Hinduphobia Tracker's documentation between 1 January 2023 and 30 June 2026, more than 1,258 cases have involved the targeting of Hindu women by Muslim men through relationships intended for sexual exploitation or religious conversion. Of these, 783 cases involved perpetrators concealing or fabricating their identities by using Hindu names, Hindu religious symbols, or forged documents to present themselves as Hindus. Viewed against this documented pattern, the present case is not an isolated incident but one that reflects a broader pattern in which Hindu women are selectively targeted through religious deception. Given that this case meets the parameters of a religiously driven hate crime, it is being included in the Hinduphobia Tracker's hate crime database as an instance of the religiously motivated targeting of a Hindu woman. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records the incident date based on when the victim's ordeal is understood to have begun, rather than the date on which the incident is reported by the media. However, in the present case, media reports do not specify the exact date on which the victim's ordeal began. They only mention that Hindu activists reached the couple's rented accommodation on 29 June 2026, following which the matter came to light. Accordingly, 29 June 2026 has been used as the indicative incident date for this case. This date is being recorded solely for documentation and database purposes and should not be construed as the confirmed date on which the victim's ordeal commenced.