Hindu woman deceived by Muslim man posing as Hindu, married in Hindu rituals, later pressured to convert
Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India 
20 July, 2016
Case Summary
A Hindu woman was duped into marriage and abused by Imran Khan, who introduced himself as a Hindu man. Soon after, the Muslim man revealed his true identity and started to force the victim to convert and physically assaulted her when she refused. The couple got married on July 21, 2016, and over time, the accused started demanding 5 lakh rupees and pressured her to convert to Islam. After two years of mistreatment, she finally came forward and complained on February 18, 2021. She stated that Imran had deceived her by claiming to be Raj Prajapati and had married her at the Salkanpur temple. Based on her complaint, an FIR was filed, after which the accused threatened the Hindu woman that he would cut her up into three pieces and would take them to the court. The police investigation revealed documents and evidence linking the accused to the name Imran Khan. The court found him guilty. The accused was sentenced to three years in prison, along with a fine of ₹ 28,000, by Additional Sessions Judge Pallavi Dwivedi.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the first primary category: Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. Within this, the first subcategory selected is: Man pretends to be Hindu. The tertiary categories selected in this case are: Name Changed, Marries as per Hindu rituals. 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 malicious 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 subcategory selected 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 next subcategory selected 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 pressurising 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 second primary category is: Predatory Proselytisation. Within this, 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. This case represents a clear instance of a religiously motivated hate crime targeting a Hindu woman for her faith. The Muslim accused deceived the victim by posing as a Hindu and using a fake Hindu name to win her trust and affection. This deliberate concealment of identity reflects an intent to exploit the woman’s faith and cultural values, knowing that she would have rejected the relationship had she known his real religion. By misrepresenting his identity, the perpetrator violated her right to informed consent and engaged in a targeted act of religious deceit, a tactic frequently used to manipulate and entrap Hindu women under false pretences. After gaining her trust, the accused went a step further by marrying the victim in a Hindu temple, performing rituals sacred to Hindu tradition. This was not an act of genuine union but a calculated attempt to lend legitimacy to the deceit and emotionally bind the victim within a Hindu religious framework. The performance of a Hindu marriage by a man concealing his Islamic identity constitutes a symbolic desecration — exploiting Hindu customs to mask religious coercion. It was a deliberate manipulation of faith, carried out to entrap the Hindu woman and later coerce her into renouncing her religion. When the woman eventually discovered his true identity, she confronted him. Instead of remorse, the perpetrator turned abusive and began pressuring her to convert to Islam. Upon her refusal, he resorted to threats and physical violence, warning that he would cut her up if she did not comply. His actions escalated from deception to intimidation and attempted religious coercion, showing a clear progression of hate-driven intent, from targeting a Hindu woman to violating her religious trust to punishing her for asserting her Hindu identity. This case is not an isolated act of personal betrayal but part of a broader pattern where Hindu women are specifically targeted by Muslim men through identity fraud, emotional exploitation, and forced conversion. Such actions stem from religious animosity and the belief that converting or subjugating Hindu women is a way to assert religious dominance and humiliate the Hindu faith. Given the deliberate concealment of religious identity, the misuse of Hindu rituals, and the coercion to convert under threat of violence, this case clearly meets the parameters of a religiously motivated hate crime and has therefore been included in the Hinduphobia Tracker. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records the date of an incident based on when the crime actually occurred rather than when the media reported it. In this case, media reports surfaced on October 16th, 2025. However, as the victim’s ordeal began with the fraudulent marriage, the date of marriage being July 21st, 2016, this is being considered as the date of the incident for documentation purposes.
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 0
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Perpetrator held guilty by court
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
