Hindu woman pressurised to convert to Christianity by in-laws, thrown out of the house when she refuses to comply

Case Summary
A Hindu woman, Kamini Devi, residing in Mohalla Muslim accused her in-laws of pressuring her to abandon her faith and adopt Christianity. She also said that she was being harassed for dowry. When the HIndu woman refused to comply with the demands of her in-laws, she, along with her two children was thrown out of the house. The Hindu victim revealed that she married a man named Sushil in 2011. Kamini's father spent 6 lakhs on her wedding, however, her in-laws were not satisfied and after marriage, they started harassing her for dowry. They demanded that her father give them an additional 3 lakhs as dowry. She was beaten and abused and also forced to convert to Christianity. Kamini refused to accede to their demands and was thrown out of the house with her children.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added as a religiously motivated hate crime under the prime category- Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes, of the tracker. Under this, three sub-categories have been selected, based on case details. The first is- Forced conversion after marriage. In such cases, a non-Hindu man marries a Hindu woman and the force/pressure to convert to Islam begins after marriage. In such cases, the marriage is consensual in most cases and often, there is no element of the man hiding his religious identity. 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 to Islam after marriage. In such cases, there is application of force by the perpetrator, including, denial of the woman’s religious rights. Some of the means by which the woman is forced/pressured to convert include force-feeding beef, forced to read the Kalma, forced to wear a hijab, forced for 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 second sub-category relevant here is- Assault or threat upon refusal to convert. When Hindu women are in a relationship with non-Hindu men, there are cases where the woman faces threats or assault after she refuses to convert and change her religious identity owing to pressure/force by the non-Hindu man. Such relationships may be consensual with the religious identity of the non-Hindu man known to the victim. Somewhere along the relationship, the non-Hindu man starts pressurizing the Hindu woman to convert to Islam and upon her refusal, assaults or threatens the victim. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. Cases where the Hindu woman converts to Islam and does not file a complaint about the force or threat, are not considered a part of the hate tracker, even though, it may be argued that the woman was brainwashed or threatened to convert to Islam. The third sub-category under which this case has been placed is- Leaves Hindu partner upon refusal to convert. When Hindu women are in a relationship with non-Hindu men, there are cases where the woman faces threats or assault after she refuses to convert and change her religious identity owing to pressure/force by the non-Hindu man. Such relationships may be consensual with the religious identity of the non-Hindu man known to the victim. Somewhere along the relationship, the non-Hindu man starts pressurizing the Hindu woman to convert to Islam and upon her refusal, assaults or threatens the victim. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. Cases where the Hindu woman converts to Islam and does not file a complaint about the force or threat, are not considered a part of the hate tracker, even though, it may be argued that the woman was brainwashed or threatened to convert to Islam. This case has been documented in the hate tracker as every detail points towards the fact that the perpetrator wanted to target the victim because of her religious identity specifically and that his motivation was driven by religious hate. Firstly, the perpetrators sought to impose their religion on the victim, using threats and violence to break her will. They harassed the Hindu woman for the purpose of conversion. She was put through immense mental stress and was also beaten up by her in-laws. Eventually, when the woman refused to comply with the conversion demands, she was thrown out of her house. The intent to strip her of her religious identity through force shows the religious animosity the perpetrator harboured for her faith, making this a hate crime. It highlights a broader pattern where vulnerable individuals are targeted based on their religion, with the aim of coercing them into abandoning their faith through intimidation and violence.
Victim Details
Total Victim
3
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 1
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 2
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 3
- Unknown 0
Age Group
- Minor 2
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0

Case Status
Complaint filed

Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Christian Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
both