Minor Hindu girl lured into a romantic relationship by a Muslim man pretending to be Hindu, blackmailed with explicit images over Facebook

Case Summary
A Muslim youth pretended to be a Hindu and deceived a Hindu girl in the Gajraula area of Amroha, Uttar Pradesh. Shoaib, who identified himself as Sonu, befriended a BA first-year student from a private degree college by concealing his identity. Their friendship eventually turned into a romantic relationship. Shoaib established physical relations with the girl multiple times and secretly captured explicit photographs of her. Ten days ago, Shoaib raped the girl in a field near the village, threatening to make her photos viral if she resisted. When the girl tried to distance herself from him, Shoaib followed through on his threat and shared her explicit images on Facebook two days ago. The incident came to light when the victim's family saw the photos and contacted Bajrang Dal for help. A complaint was filed against Shoaib, and the police registered a case under relevant sections.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the category- Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. The first sub-category selected under this is- Man pretends to be Hindu. Within this, 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 second sub-category relevant here is- Groomed and/or brainwashed, within which, the tertiary category selected is- Rape and sexual assault/harassment. In several cases, a Hindu woman and/or minor is sexually harassed and/or assaulted with a religious motive. For example, in a case in Kausambi, UP, a Hindu girl was raped by non-Hindu perpetrators. During the assault, the victim pleaded to 'spare her in the name of Bhagwan'. The perpetrators then asked her to plead in the name of Allah. This clearly indicates a religious motive for the crime and evidences the religious animosity the perpetrators harboured against the victim owing to her religious identity. Such cases would be added to this tertiary category since the religious animosity makes the crime a hate crime. In this case, the Muslim perpetrator pretended to be a Hindu to lure a minor Hindu girl into a relationship. He sexually exploited her multiple times and secretly captured explicit photographs of her which he then used to coerce her into sexual relationships. He forcefully raped her threatening to make her photos viral if she resisted. When the girl tried to distance herself from him, the accused actually leaked her photos online. This case has various religious markers that identify it as a hate crime. Firstly, the fact that the accused assumed a Hindu identity to lure the victim into a relationship is inherently malicious. It undermines the victim's right to make informed decisions about their relationships, especially those that involve significant cultural and religious dimensions. This type of exploitation, particularly when it involves religious deception, highlights a profound disrespect for the victim's faith and autonomy. It is a deliberate and calculated attempt to exert control over her, using religion as a tool of manipulation and domination. Such actions are rooted in religious intolerance and are clear manifestations of religiously motivated hate. Second, the perpetrator used the trust the girl had in him to sexually exploit her and capture explicit photographs, which he further used to blackmail her. This adds an additional layer of psychological manipulation. It is important to mention 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 deceit, coercion and manipulation, it is a blatant act of religious hate, which is why it has been documented here in the hate tracker.
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
Complaint registered

Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male