Muslim man hides his identity, lures and abducts minor Dalit girl, forcibly marries her, attempts to sell her in Nepal
Mothihari, Bihar, India 
19 April, 2024
Case Summary
In East Champaran, Bihar, the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) arrested a 26-year-old man named Sameer Alam on April 20, 2024, for marrying a minor Dalit girl under false pretences and subsequently luring her to accompany him to Nepal. Reportedly, Sameer has been accused earlier of selling non-Muslim girls after converting them to Islam. The 17-year-old Hindu girl from Narkatiaganj, Bihar, frequently visited her friend Salma Khatun’s house. One day, during a wedding, she encountered Sameer Alam who made persistent attempts to converse with the girl despite her refusal. After a few days, the victim started to talk to Sameer. However, Sameer did not disclose that he was Muslim. Later, Sameer started insisting on taking the girl to his house, where, in the presence of many women, Sameer tried to apply vermillion to the victim’s forehead. Following their marriage, Sameer confined her to his house, forbidding her from going outside. When the victim attempted to escape twice, she was apprehended. Her phone was also confiscated. Meanwhile, Sameer had sinister intentions of selling the girl in Nepal and took her towards the border. However, Inspector Manoj Kumar Sharma of the SSB noticed them and grew suspicious. Upon questioning Sameer and the girl, he found Sameer's responses alarming. Subsequently, they were brought to the police station, where objectionable content was discovered on Sameer's mobile phone. It was revealed that Sameer had a prior accusation of trafficking a minor Dalit girl in 2022. Sameer was also said to be already married and a father of one child. During interrogation, Sameer admitted his plan to sell the girl in Nepal, showing no remorse about facing jail time again. The victim also confirmed Sameer's intentions to the authorities. Following a complaint by social worker Ranjit Singh, Sameer was booked under various sections of the IPC, POCSO Act, SC/ST Act, and Child Marriage Act. He has been arrested and awaits trial while the police continue their investigation into the matter.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
In this case, a non-Hindu man concealed his religious identity and pretended to be a Hindu to lure a Hindu woman. Since the religious motive of the crime is evident from the fact that the man pretended to be a Hindu to trap a Hindu woman, this case has been documented as a hate crime. 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.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 1
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 1
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 0
Age Group
- Minor 1
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
