Dalit Hindu girl deceived, sexually exploited and pressured for religious conversion in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh

Case ID : 30a93fa | Location : Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Mon, 9 August, 2021

Case ID : 30a93fa

Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, India

9 August, 2021

Dalit Hindu girl deceived, sexually exploited and pressured for religious conversion in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh

Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes

Forced conversion after marriage

Blackmailed to convert

Assault or threat upon refusal to convert

Case Summary

In the Ballia district, Uttar Pradesh, a Hindu girl belonging to the Scheduled Caste community was deceived, sexually exploited and pressured for religious conversion by a man. accusing a Muslim man of sexually exploiting her over several years, deceiving her with promises of marriage, forcing her to undergo an abortion, and pressuring her to convert to Islam. According to the complaint filed by the victim, the Hindu girl, who was an orphan and belonged to an economically disadvantaged family, came into contact with the accused in 2017, when she was just 13 years old. During this time, he called her to his house on the pretext of helping her secure employment and sexually exploited her and continued to do so over the following years. On 10 August 2021, when she was about 17 years old, the accused entered into a written marriage agreement with her, assuring her that he would solemnise a legal marriage after she attained the age of 20 and would also give her a share in his property. Trusting these assurances, she remained in the relationship. The victim further stated that during the course of the relationship, she became pregnant, following which the accused compelled her to undergo an abortion against her wishes. After she attained adulthood, she asked him to fulfil his promise of legally marrying her. Instead of honouring the commitment, he pressured her for religious conversion as a precondition for the marriage. When she refused to change her religion, he threatened to kill her. The complaint further stated that the accused was preparing to marry another woman on 6 July 2026, prompting the victim to approach the police seeking immediate intervention to prevent the marriage. She also stated that members of the accused's family had actively participated in the entire episode. Along with requesting legal action against the accused and his family members, she sought police protection for her safety and assistance for her livelihood. The complaint was submitted at the Nagra police station in the presence of Vishva Hindu Parishad Rasra district president Rajiv Kumar Singh Chandel. The Station House Officer confirmed that the complaint had been received and stated that the matter would be investigated and legal action would be taken on the basis of the findings.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of - Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. Within it, the sub-category selected here is - Forced conversion before marriage. 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 parties are 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 her 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 her religion and give up her religious identity. In both situations, there is 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, 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. The other sub-category selected here is - Blackmail to convert. When Hindu women are in a relationship with non-Hindu men, there are cases where the woman is blackmailed to convert her religion, owing to her religious identity of being a Hindu. Such relationships may be consensual with the religious identity of the non-Hindu man known to the victim, however, there could be cases where the relationship is not consensual and the non-Hindu man starts blackmailing a Hindu woman to convert her religion. In these cases, it is often seen that the Hindu woman is blackmailed with intimate photos and/or videos, threats of harm to her or her family, threats of violence etc. 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 sub-category selected here 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 pressurizing 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. This case has been included in the Hinduphobia Tracker because it involves the coercive targeting of a Hindu woman's religious identity through pressure for religious conversion by the accused as a condition for marriage. Conditioning the continuation or legal recognition of a relationship upon the abandonment of one's faith is not merely an act of personal coercion but an attack on the victim's religious identity and freedom of conscience. Pressuring a Hindu individual to discard her religious faith and embrace another was a direct attack on her religious identity and dignity. It was not a matter of personal choice; it was coercion rooted in hostility towards the victim's Hindu identity. Such conduct extends beyond the sphere of an interpersonal dispute and assumes a distinctly religious character, as the victim's continued adherence to Hinduism was treated as an obstacle that had to be removed before the relationship could proceed on the accused's terms. The insistence that the victim renounce Hinduism, coupled with threats when she refused, demonstrates that her religious identity became a central factor in the coercive conduct directed against her. Such actions are incompatible with the principle that any change of religion must be the result of an individual's free, informed, and voluntary choice, free from intimidation, manipulation, or duress. Often in such cases, sexual violence serves a dual purpose: physical subjugation and religious humiliation. The intention was to break the victim down, emotionally, physically, and spiritually, so that she could be converted. This was not random violence; it was systematic, targeted, and rooted in religious animosity. The insistence that the victim renounce Hinduism, coupled with the accused's threat to kill her when she refused to convert to Islam, demonstrates that her religious identity became a central factor in the coercive conduct directed against her. The use of death threats to compel a person to abandon their faith goes beyond interpersonal coercion and represents an attempt to extinguish the individual's freedom to practise and retain their religion. Such actions stem from inherent hostility towards the victim's professed faith since Abrahamic faiths believe that any non-adherent to the faith is subject to being dehumanised till they convert. Such acts were not merely personal crimes; they were rooted in a desire to dominate and erase the religious identity of the victim. Since such predatory actions stem from doctrinal animosity towards the Hindu faith and its adherents, this case is being documented as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the pressure exerted on the victim was directed specifically at her religion rather than being incidental to the relationship, thereby making her faith the object of coercion. Efforts to force a Hindu individual to abandon their religion through intimidation, threats, or conditional acceptance constitute an attack on religious freedom and dignity and reflect prejudice against the individual's existing faith. For these reasons, the case has been categorised as a hate crime, as the conduct was rooted in hostility towards the victim's Hindu religious identity and sought to compel its abandonment through coercive means. Disclaimer: It is important to clarify that none of the media sources covering this case has specified the exact date when the victim's ordeal began. The earliest date mentioned is July 21, 2025, when she was threatened and taken to Rishikesh. Since Hinduphobia Tracker records the incident based on when the victim’s ordeal began and not when it was reported, we have considered the date of the incident as 10 August 2021, though the media reported the incident on 2 July 2025.