Hindu man lured into relationship by Muslim woman; victim's family says he was forcibly converted to Islam and made to offer namaz

Case ID : 30a9c07 | Location : Shamli, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Tue, 31 December, 2024

Case ID : 30a9c07

Shamli, Uttar Pradesh, India

31 December, 2024

Hindu man lured into relationship by Muslim woman; victim's family says he was forcibly converted to Islam and made to offer namaz

Undecided cases

Case Summary

A 22-year-old Hindu man, Kartik alias Bhanu, a resident of Kheda Bhau village in Shamli district, Uttar Pradesh, was lured into a relationship by a Muslim woman. The accused woman was identified as Alisha, a resident of Nanauta in Saharanpur district. According to the victim’s family, he was forcibly converted to Islam, made to offer namaz, and held hostage. According to his family, Kartik, who was Alisha’s schoolmate, was taken away from his home and had been kept at an undisclosed location for around one and a half years. The family stated that he was converted to Islam, made to offer namaz, and prevented from returning to his family. Kartik’s family also stated that Alisha and her relatives, along with religious figures from Nanauta and Deoband, were involved in his conversion and in separating him from his family. They further stated that the woman was attempting to acquire their 35 bighas of land and other assets. The family stated that they received phone calls threatening them with death if they did not transfer ownership of their property. According to the family’s complaint, they received a phone call around a month before approaching the police, during which the caller informed them that Kartik was no longer a Hindu and had accepted Islam. The family stated that Kartik told them during the conversation that he wanted to return home, but he was not allowed to communicate freely with them. They also stated that the caller abused and insulted them and said that Kartik followed Alisha’s instructions. The family stated that they had preserved the recording of the conversation. The family approached Hindu religious preacher and activist Swami Yashvir Maharaj, chief of Sadhana Peeth Ashram, seeking intervention. Yashvir Maharaj demanded immediate police action and warned of a protest outside Alisha’s residence if authorities failed to act. On 1 July 2026, the family submitted a complaint to the Superintendent of Police, seeking Kartik’s safety and action against those involved. Police stated that an investigation had been initiated into the allegations, including religious conversion, coercion, threats, and other aspects of the case. At the time of writing this report, no First Information Report had been registered. Authorities also noted that Alisha’s father had earlier filed a kidnapping complaint against Kartik after the two left together in 2025.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

In this case, the family of a 22-year-old Hindu man, Kartik alias Bhanu, filed a police complaint stating that their son was lured into a relationship by a Muslim woman named Alisha and was taken away from his home. The family stated that Kartik was forcibly converted to Islam, made to offer namaz, and kept at an undisclosed location for around one and a half years. They further stated that the entire ordeal, from him being taken away to his religious conversion, was a result of coercion, undue influence, and pressure. The family also stated that threats were made to force them to transfer their 35 bighas of land and other assets. At Hinduphobia Tracker, numerous incidents have been documented in which Hindu individuals were approached through relationships where they were deceived, coerced, forcibly converted and exploited due to animosity towards their faith identity. These cases reveal patterns in which relationships and marriage have been used as tools to facilitate coercive religious conversion of Hindu individuals. When a person’s religious identity is changed through force, threats, deception, or undue influence, such acts represent examples of religiously motivated targeting. With this broader context in mind, dismissing the statements made by Kartik’s family would be unwise, particularly given the recurring pattern of Hindu individuals being targeted and exploited in similar circumstances. However, it is equally important to acknowledge the autonomy of the individual involved in the present case. At 22 years of age, Kartik is considered an adult under the law and is entitled to make his own decisions regarding his relationships and religious beliefs. As long as his choices are made freely and are not the result of deception, coercion, threats, or undue influence, he has the right to choose his partner and faith. There remains a possibility that Kartik may have entered the relationship and accepted Islam independently and of his own volition. The absence of Kartik’s own independent statement at this stage makes it difficult to conclusively determine whether his conversion and relationship were voluntary or whether they occurred under pressure. In such situations, emotional distress, family disagreements, and social stigma surrounding interfaith relationships may also influence the statements of his relatives. Therefore, while the allegations made by Kartik’s family require investigation, they cannot alone establish religious coercion without further evidence regarding Kartik’s own wishes and circumstances. At the Hinduphobia Tracker, incidents are categorised as religiously motivated hate crimes only after a careful evaluation of all available evidence. In this situation, given that Kartik is an adult, that allegations of forced conversion and coercion have been raised by his family, but no independent statement from Kartik or conclusive evidence establishing force or deception has emerged so far, the case remains in our 'Undecided' database. If any new information comes to light indicating that Kartik’s conversion or relationship was carried out under pressure, threat, deception, or coercion, the case will be re-evaluated and accordingly added to our hate crime database. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records the incident date based on when the victim’s ordeal begins rather than when it is reported by the media. However, in this case, the exact date of the beginning of Kartik’s ordeal has not been specified in media reports. As reports stated that he had been kept at an undisclosed location for around one and a half years and the matter came to light after his family submitted a complaint on 1 July 2026, an indicative incident date of 1 January 2025 has been assigned by calculating one and a half years backwards. This date is being documented for record-keeping purposes only.