Hindu woman befriended by Muslim man posing as Hindu; accused wears a kalava to reinforce false Hindu identity

Case ID : 30a9efa | Location : Pune, Maharashtra, India | Date of Incident : Mon, 17 August, 2026

Case ID : 30a9efa

Pune, Maharashtra, India

17 August, 2026

Hindu woman befriended by Muslim man posing as Hindu; accused wears a kalava to reinforce false Hindu identity

Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes

Man pretends to be Hindu

Wears symbols of Hinduism

Case Summary

In Pune, Maharashtra, a Hindu woman was deceived by a Muslim man who attempted to befriend her by pretending to be a Hindu. He also wore a kalava on his wrist and presented himself as a Marathi Hindu. According to the information available, a video of the incident went viral on social media, in which the woman revealed that the Muslim man had attempted to deceive her by presenting himself as a Hindu. He attempted to reinforce this identity by wearing a kalava and claiming that he was observing an upvaas (a religious fasting ritual observed by Hindus). The woman subsequently became suspicious of his identity and decided to verify his background. During the verification, she discovered that the names of his parents were Ramzan and Razia, leading her to conclude that he was Muslim. She then confronted him about concealing his Muslim identity from her. Following this, the woman informed local Hindu people about the deception, after which they confronted and caught the Muslim man on the spot. The confrontation was recorded on video, during which those present questioned him about his Muslim identity and the false Hindu identity he had presented to the woman. In the video, after the woman exposed the accused, he was seen casually and mockingly responding to her statements by saying, “It’s okay, na,” appearing to dismiss the matter while acknowledging the deception and concealment of his religious identity.

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 category selected is: 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 by a Muslim man who approached her for friendship while pretending to be a Hindu. He also wore a kalava on his wrist and claimed to observe fast (upvaas) to reinforce his fake Hindu identity. Firstly, the perpetrator's act of deception by posing as a Hindu itself demonstrates a clear bias and malicious intent towards the victim’s religion. By hiding his true identity, the Muslim man manipulated the Hindu woman's trust and targeted her under false pretences, indicating a premeditated effort to exploit the woman based on her religious background. This constituted a direct violation of her right to informed consent regarding whom she chooses to associate with, as well as an infringement upon her religious beliefs and boundaries. Thus, the perpetrator’s deliberate decision to hide his religious identity strongly underscores the religious motive behind this crime. In such instances, identity concealment is not just a deceptive tactic for personal reasons but a calculated strategy rooted in religious profiling and targeting. The accused was aware that the victim, being Hindu, would likely refuse his advances if she knew his real identity, and he circumvented this by lying, which directly points to a religiously driven intent. This deception reflects a larger pattern where Hindu women are specifically singled out using false identities by Muslim men, often with coercion, exploitation, or conversion in mind. Such targeted victimisation based on religion not only demonstrates a fundamental disregard for Hinduism but also exposes a deeper animosity toward Hindus and their beliefs. The accused’s use of a kalava (sacred Hindu thread) as part of the deception carried 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 faith and devotion. In this case, the accused wore a kalava on his wrist while concealing his Muslim identity and presenting himself as a Hindu in order to gain the Hindu woman’s trust and create a false impression that he shared her religious identity. The use of the kalava was therefore not incidental to the deception but served to reinforce the Hindu identity he had falsely adopted before the victim. By using a kalava, a sacred Hindu religious symbol, merely to deceive and trap a Hindu woman into a relationship, the accused exploited an object of religious faith for personal purposes and demonstrated deep-seated disrespect for its sanctity and the religious sentiments associated with it. Such deliberate misuse of a revered Hindu symbol to facilitate deception and conceal his actual religious identity amounted to religiously driven hostility and further underscored the religious dimension of the offence. Furthermore, the perpetrator also used upvaas, a sacred Hindu religious practice in which Hindus observe fasting as an act of devotion, spiritual discipline, prayer, self-restraint and religious observance. Upvaas holds significant spiritual and cultural importance in Hinduism, with devotees traditionally observing it as part of worship, religious vows and the seeking of divine blessings. In this case, the perpetrator claimed to be observing an upvaas to reinforce the false impression that he was a Hindu and to gain the Hindu woman’s trust. The fact that he used even this sacred aspect of Hindu faith merely as a means to deceive and trap a Hindu woman into a relationship demonstrated deep-seated malicious intent and a deliberate disregard for the religious significance of the practice, further showcasing the disregard for the Hindu faith and sentiments of its adherents. This was not an isolated incident; Hinduphobia Tracker has previously documented several cases in which Hindu women were lured into relationships by Muslim men through concealed or fabricated identities. According to Hinduphobia Tracker’s documentation between 1 January 2023 and 19 August 2026, more than 1,362 cases involved Hindu women being targeted by Muslim men through relationships linked to sexual exploitation or religious conversion. Of these, 853 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 reflected a broader pattern in which Hindu women were 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 was reported by the media. However, in the present case, the video was undated. The only available date was 18 August 2026, when the video went viral on social media. Henceforth, 18 August 2026 has been recorded as an indicative incident date for documentation purposes only.