Hindu siblings assaulted and attempts of conversion made by two Muslim men in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh.

Case ID : 30a9798 | Location : Bara Banki, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Wed, 15 July, 2026

Case ID : 30a9798

Bara Banki, Uttar Pradesh, India

15 July, 2026

Hindu siblings assaulted and attempts of conversion made by two Muslim men in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh.

Predatory Proselytisation

Harassment, threats, coercion for conversion

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim

Case Summary

In the Ramnagar area of Barabanki district, Uttar Pradesh, a Hindu woman was assaulted and subjected to conversion pressure by two Muslim men. Her brother was also assaulted while he tried to save her. According to reports, the Hindu woman was intercepted while she was on her way to Ganeshpur Market to purchase household items. Shamim and Salman blocked her way, assaulted her, and took her to a house, where she was confined. Inside the house, several other individuals and women also assaulted her. During her confinement, she was subjected to pressure to convert to Islam. Hearing her cries for help, the woman's brother arrived at the scene to rescue her. He was also assaulted, and his motorcycle was taken away. The siblings subsequently escaped and approached the police. The woman submitted a complaint at Ramnagar Police Station and also forwarded a representation to the Superintendent of Police. Based on her complaint, Ramnagar Police registered a case against Shamim, Salman, and other unidentified individuals and initiated an investigation into the incident. Ramnagar Station House Officer Arun Pratap Singh stated that a case had been registered on the basis of the complaint and that the matter was under investigation. He added that further legal action would be taken based on the investigation's findings.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

The primary category for this case is: Predatory Proselytisation. The subcategory for this case is: Harassment, threats and 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 in discriminatory grounds which have 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 other category selected is: Attack not resulting in death, and within this, the subcategory selected is: Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim. In several cases, Hindus are attacked for opposing religiously motivated crimes being committed against a fellow Hindu or simply for voicing an opinion opposing radical elements, who either have in the past or continue to persecute Hindus. In such cases, the initial attack against the victim, against which the Hindu was trying to defend the victim, would also need to be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the initial crime itself was religiously motivated and the subsequent crime of attempting to save the victim or speaking against the radical elements ends up inviting a violent attack, it would also be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. In the present case, the Hindu woman was abducted, physically assaulted, and confined, with the sole aim of pressuring her to convert her religion. When her brother opposed the coercion his sister was subjected to, he too met with violence. The combination of physical violence, confinement, intimidation, and pressure to change religion created a coercive environment in which the victim's ability to practise her faith was directly compromised. The religious identity of the Hindu victim was central to the incident. The pressure exerted upon her was not limited to physical assault but extended to compelling her to abandon her professed faith and adopt another religion. Such conduct undermines an individual's freedom of religion by attempting to alter her religious identity through coercive means rather than through free and informed choice. The incident therefore exhibits the essential elements of coercive proselytisation. The recorded acts of assault, confinement, intimidation, and pressure to convert were not isolated from one another but formed part of the same sequence of events. The use of physical violence and threats to create circumstances in which a Hindu victim was pressured to change her religion constitutes coercion for religious conversion and directly interferes with her right to freely profess and practise her faith. The case subjected the Hindu siblings to physical violence, intimidation, wrongful confinement, and pressure to abandon their religion, creating fear, insecurity, and psychological distress. For the victims, the assault extended beyond physical harm, as the reported attempt to compel a change in their religious identity directly interfered with their freedom of conscience and their ability to practise and retain their faith without coercion. The use of violence and intimidation to induce religious conversion reflects a mindset in which force and fear are employed to pressure an individual into abandoning their professed religion. Such conduct transforms an act of assault into an attack on religious freedom by attempting to alter a person's religious identity through coercive means rather than through free and voluntary choice. Such acts are carried out by Muslim perpetrators due to indoctrination by Islamic theology, which advocates that all non-Muslims (referred to as kafirs) are inferior and subject to subjugation unless they convert to Islam or live under Islamic rule (dhimmitude). These ideas are not mere abstractions; they manifest in actions where non-Muslims, especially Hindus in India, are seen as targets for religious domination, coercion, or humiliation. This theological framework fosters an "us versus them" mindset, in which any assertion of Hindu identity or religious freedom is seen not only as undesirable but as a threat to Islamic supremacy. As a result, perpetrators who are shaped by such teachings feel justified, even morally obligated, to harass, suppress, or violently attack Hindus, particularly when Hindus assert their religious rights or resist conversion. Such acts, therefore, are not isolated but driven by a broader ideological hostility towards Hindus as non-believers and reflect an attempt to impose religious dominance. Since this case also has all key religious markers of a premeditated attack motivated by bias and hatred against the Hindu community, which is a defining feature of hate crimes, this has been added to the tracker.