Hindu woman deceived, sexually exploited and pressured to convert to Islam by Muslim man posing as Hindu

Case ID : 30aa9f2 | Location : Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Wed, 30 September, 2015

Case ID : 30aa9f2

Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

30 September, 2015

Hindu woman deceived, sexually exploited and pressured to convert to Islam by Muslim man posing as Hindu

Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes

Man pretends to be Hindu

Name Changed

Forced conversion after marriage

Case Summary

A Hindu woman from Bajaria, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, was deceived, sexually exploited and pressured to convert to Islam by a Muslim man named Mohammad Shoaib, who posed as a Hindu man. According to the victim, she came into contact with the accused in 2015 while studying for a BA at Kanpur Vidya Mandir. During this time, the accused befriended her by introducing himself as a Hindu man named Ankit Verma. He lured her into a relationship and sexually exploited her on the promise of marriage. He later took her to Prayagraj, where they got married. After reaching her in-laws’ house, she discovered that his actual name was Mohammad Shoaib and that he was a Muslim. It was also revealed that he was already married and had a one-and-a-half-year-old daughter. She stated that Shoaib subsequently pressured her to convert to Islam and subjected her to frequent physical assault. In 2021, she attempted to distance her from the accused and moved to Shuklaganj. While she was working as a hospital guard, Shoaib continued to harass her and create disturbances when she did not give him money for alcohol, which resulted in her losing her job. She initially approached Bajaria police station, after which the case was transferred to Collectorganj police station. Collectorganj police station in-charge Sanjeev Kumar Singh stated that an FIR had been registered under provisions relating to religious conversion and the SC/ST Act. As of the date of writing this report, the investigation was ongoing.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case is being added to the tracker under the primary category- Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. Within this, the subcategory selected is- Man pretends to be Hindu. The tertiary category selected is- Name Changed. 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. The other sub-category selected here is - Forced conversion after 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 case was added to the hate crime database because the accused's conduct involved deception about religious identity followed by pressure on the Hindu woman to abandon or change her religion. The religious element was not incidental but central to the ordeal she endured. The accused had introduced himself under the Hindu name “Ankit Verma” while establishing a relationship with her. This itself is a clear manifestation of bias and malicious intent towards the victim's religion. By concealing his true identity, he exploited her trust, targeting her under false pretences. This indicates a premeditated intent to manipulate her based on her religious background. In cases like these, the tactic of adopting a false Hindu identity to manipulate and "ensnare" a Hindu individual is not just an act of personal betrayal but can also be interpreted as an expression of disdain or disregard for Hinduism and its customs that reflects a deeper animosity towards Hindus and their beliefs. After the marriage, the attempt to pressure her towards conversion represented an effort to alter her religious affiliation and subject her to religious control. This made her Hindu identity a relevant factor in the abuse and distinguished the reported conduct from ordinary marital or interpersonal harassment. 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 an attempt reflects religious animosity because the act was not simply about personal differences but about erasing the victim’s Hindu faith, making it a religiously motivated crime. The physical abuse and harassment further strengthened the religious dimension of the case. Often in such cases, violence or sexual exploitation 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. Taken together, the concealment of religious identity, marriage following that concealment, subsequent pressure to convert, and harassment of the woman because of her religious identity provided the basis for treating the incident as having a religiously motivated element. 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. It is also important to address a question that often arises in such cases: if the woman discovered that the accused had concealed his religious identity, why did she remain in the relationship for several years? Such questions overlook the realities faced by many women in abusive or deceptive marriages. Walking away from a marriage is rarely an immediate or straightforward decision, especially once a family has been established. Emotional attachment, financial dependence, fear of social stigma, pressure from family, uncertainty about rebuilding one's life, and concerns over the future and custody of children often leave women feeling trapped. Many continue to hope that the situation will improve or fear that leaving will expose them and their children to even greater hardship. The fact that a victim remained in the relationship for years, therefore, should not be interpreted as acceptance of the deception or as evidence that the initial fraud became irrelevant. Instead, it reflects the difficult personal, social, and economic realities that often prevent victims from leaving relationships founded on deception. Disclaimer: It is important to clarify that none of the media sources covering this case have specified the exact date when the victim's ordeal began, though it is mentioned that she came into contact with the accused in 2015. Thus, to document this case, we have used an indicative date, 1 October 2015, as a placeholder to represent the beginning of her suffering. While media coverage of the incident emerged on September 5, 2025, the Hinduphobia Tracker records the incident based on when the victim’s ordeal began, not when it was reported.