Hindu transgenders mentally tortured, pressured to convert to Islam by in Gurugram; forced to pray in mosques and eat beef
Gurgaon, Haryana, India 
18 August, 2026
Case Summary
In Sohna, Gurugram, Hindu transgenders were mentally tortured and pressured to convert to Islam. They were forced to pray in mosques and eat beef. The matter came to light after members of the Sohna Kinnar community gathered from the Chungi Number One area and approached the office of ACP Mukesh Yadav. They submitted a written complaint seeking an investigation into this matter and action against those responsible. Seema Sisodia, head of the Sohna Kinnar community, said that Kajal and Reshma, two transgenders from Gurugram, pressured members of the community who followed Sanatan Dharma to change their religion. She further added that the victims were mentally tortured and pressured to abandon their religious practices. They were told to go to Saudi Arabia, offer namaz, visit mosques and eat non-vegetarian food. The community claimed that such pressure had caused fear and distress among its members. Seema also said that some transgenders from Gurugram falsely accused her of trying to convert people to another religion. She rejected the allegations and said that she herself followed Sanatan Dharma and belonged to Uttar Pradesh. She also stated that a transgender person from the Muslim community lived with her and that she had no objection to that person's religious customs and practices. Kinnar Garima Panchali expressed concern about the conversion pressure and raised concerns about the safety of herself and other members of the community. The Sohna kinnar community demanded an impartial investigation, protection for its members and legal action against those found responsible. After receiving the complaint, ACP Mukesh Yadav said that the matter would be investigated.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The primary category selected in this case is: Predatory Proselytisation. Within this, the subcategory selected is: Harassment, threats and coercion. 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 rights 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 documented cases, 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. This case stands as a clear instance of a religiously motivated hate crime because members of the transgender community were pressured and mentally tortured to abandon their existing faith and convert to Islam, offer namaz, visit mosques and eat beef. A particularly significant aspect of this case is that when the victims resisted the conversion pressure, they were subjected to mental harassment. It was this refusal to convert that triggered the mental torture. This, therefore, was not random or incidental; rather, it was inflicted as a punishment for resisting conversion and as a means of forcing submission. The pressure served a religious objective: to break the victims' resistance, instil fear, and make them more likely to accept conversion. When coercion is used against individuals specifically because they refuse to adopt another religion, it becomes inseparable from the underlying religious animosity motivating it. This was thus not merely an act of convincing but a coercive tool employed to pressure the victims into embracing Islam against their wishes. Coercing Hindus to read namaz and go to mosque further intensified the degrading nature of the attack. Beyond the assault, such acts carry a symbolic dimension intended to humiliate, assert dominance, and strip victims of dignity. When combined with demands for religious conversion, this act was directed not merely at the individuals themselves but at their sense of identity, personal autonomy and religion. The use of coercion to read namaz and go to the mosque to facilitate religious conversion reflects a pattern of hostility towards the victims' existing beliefs. Further, the religious angle of the crime became more apparent when the Hindu victims were forced to eat beef. Forcing a Hindu to consume beef is not only a profound disrespect to their religious beliefs but also constitutes a religiously motivated hate crime. In Hinduism, cows are revered as sacred animals, symbolising life and sustenance, and the act of consuming beef is considered highly sacrilegious by many Hindus. Therefore, compelling a Hindu to eat beef goes beyond mere dietary imposition; it is an intentional violation of their religious principles and an assault on their cultural and spiritual identity. In the broader context of hate crimes, forcing someone to engage in behaviour that is expressly forbidden or offensive in their religion is a clear manifestation of religious intolerance. It demonstrates a blatant disregard for the victim's rights to practice their faith freely. Here, the actions of the perpetrator clearly point towards the deep disdain he harboured for Hindus and their religious beliefs. It is evident that the perpetrator targeted the victim because of her religious identity and that his motivation was driven by religious hate. This is why this case has been added to the hate tracker. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incidents based on when an event occurred or when the victim's ordeal began. It is important to clarify that none of the media sources covering this case has specified the exact date when the victims were pressured for conversion. Therefore, for documentation purposes, we have recorded the date as the date the incident was reported in the media, 19 August 2026.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
third
Sources 
