Minor Hindu girl harassed, threatened and pressured to convert to Islam by Muslim man in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India 
24 June, 2026
Case Summary
In Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, a minor Hindu girl was harassed, threatened and pressured to convert to Islam by a Muslim man named Mohammad Saeed alias Chidda. According to reports, the accused had repeatedly harassed the minor Hindu girl while she travelled to and from school, made objectionable and lewd remarks towards her, and intimidated her with threats. An FIR was subsequently registered on 25 June 2026 under Sections 127(1), 78, 79, 115(2), 352 and 351(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Sections 7 and 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. During the investigation, the minor's statements further revealed that the accused had used photographs and videos to blackmail her. He had also pressured her to abandon her Hindu faith, embrace Islam and marry him. Following these developments, Sections 3 and 5(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, were subsequently added to the case. Police also established the involvement of a juvenile in the incident, who had already been placed under judicial protection. On 6 November 2026, acting on a tip-off from an informant, a team led by Sub-Inspector Shantanu Baliyan arrested Mohammad Saeed near the Rajauli culvert at approximately 1 pm. Gudamba Station House Officer Anjani Kumar Mishra confirmed the arrest and stated that the police were also investigating the accused's criminal history and searching for the remaining individuals involved in the case.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The first primary category selected in this case is: Predatory Proselytisation. The subcategory selected is: Harassment, threats, 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 on discriminatory grounds which has 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 second primary category selected here is - Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. Within it, the sub-category selected here is - Forced conversion before marriage. In such cases, a non-Hindu man is in a relationship with a Hindu woman when the pressure to convert her religion begins to manifest. 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, however, at some point during the relationship, the non-Hindu man starts to force the victim to convert her religion and give up her Hindu religious identity. 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 the situations, the methods used to force the victim to convert her religion often revolve around force-feeding beef, forcing her to wear hijab, forcing her to read the Kalma or even pressurizing the victim to do ‘Nikah’, which is marriage under Islamic law, with a prerequisite being conversion to Islam. Cases where a Hindu woman consensually converts to Islam in a relationship will be left out of the hate crime database, even though it could be argued in several cases that the conversion was a result of religious brainwashing. The other sub-category selected here is - Blackmailed to convert. When Hindu women are in a relationship with non-Hindu men, there are cases where the woman is blackmailed to convert her religion, owing to her religious identity of being a Hindu. Such relationships may be consensual with the religious identity of the non-Hindu man known to the victim, however, there could be cases where the relationship is not consensual and the non-Hindu man starts blackmailing a Hindu woman to convert her religion. In these cases, it is often seen that the Hindu woman is blackmailed with intimate photos and/or videos, threats of harm to her or her family, threats of violence etc. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. This incident constituted a religiously motivated hate crime because the pressure exerted on the Hindu minor was directed not merely at establishing a personal relationship or compelling her to marry, but also at changing her religious identity from Hinduism to Islam. The demand that she abandon her Hindu faith and embrace Islam made her religious identity a central element of the coercion. The accused's conduct therefore went beyond harassment, intimidation and blackmail and extended to an attempt to interfere with the victim's freedom to retain and practise her religion. The targeting of a minor Hindu girl with pressure to renounce her faith demonstrated the religious dimension of the abuse and distinguished the incident from an ordinary case of harassment or exploitation. 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 coercive nature of the incident was particularly significant because the pressure to convert was accompanied by blackmail involving photographs and videos. The use of compromising material to exert control over the victim created a situation in which her vulnerability could be exploited to secure compliance with the accused's demands. Rather than respecting her religious autonomy and personal choices, the accused used intimidation and the threat of exposure to pressure her into abandoning her existing faith. The combination of blackmail, threats and religious coercion demonstrated an attempt to undermine her ability to freely decide whether to retain her Hindu identity or enter into a relationship or marriage. The demand for marriage after conversion further demonstrated that the religious transformation was linked to the accused's desired outcome rather than being an independent or voluntary expression of faith. It is further important to note here that the victim was a minor, which means the element of consent and genuine change of conscience was missing ab initio. Minors, due to their young age and lack of maturity, are particularly vulnerable to manipulation and coercion. They may not have the ability to fully understand the implications of converting to another religion, and the Muslim perpetrator purposely targeted and exploited this vulnerability of the victim. Since this case exemplifies the use of coercion and manipulation to achieve religious conversion, it is a blatant act of religious hate. Such acts are not merely criminal in nature; they are ideologically charged, revealing religious prejudice and a calculated intent to alter the religious identity of a minor without her volition. 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. Therefore, religious conversions, even of minors, are often seen as a badge of honour, totally disregarding the methods used to achieve it. 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
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 1
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 1
Age Group
- Minor 1
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
