9-year-old tribal girl with disability raped by a Muslim man in the Kendujhar district, Odisha
Kendujhar, Odisha, India 
14 November, 2025
Case Summary
A 9-year-old tribal girl with a disability was raped by a Muslim man in the Kendujhar district, Odisha, igniting outrage in the local community. In response to widespread protests and escalating tensions, police have arrested the accused, Asif Anwar Khan. The victim’s father, who runs a small shop in Purumunda village in the Shuakathi area of the Kendujhar Sadar police station jurisdiction, was away in the fields harvesting paddy with the girl’s mother when the incident occurred. The accused used to sell bread to the shops in that area. When Asif went to sell bread and found the shop closed at about 4 pm on 15th November 2025. He went to the victim’s house and found no adult present. Taking advantage of the situation, he raped the minor. When the girl’s uncle and aunt arrived after hearing her screams, the accused fled the scene. Upon returning, the victim’s parents were informed of the attack and promptly filed a police complaint. Initially admitted to a local hospital, the girl’s condition deteriorated, necessitating her transfer to the Keonjhar district headquarters hospital. As news of the incident spread among residents, tensions escalated and demands for strict action against the accused grew louder. Activists from the Keonjhar District Unit of the Vishva Hindu Parishad met with the victim’s family, urging the administration to take exemplary measures in this case. Inspector-in-charge of the Keonjhar Sadar Police Station, Amit Kumar Bhuinya, confirmed that the accused has been arrested and produced in court. Asif Anwar Khan claims to be from West Bengal. In light of the incident, the Vishva Hindu Parishad’s Kendujhar district unit called for a 12-hour peaceful shutdown on 18th November 2025, with all essential services exempted. VHP Kendujhar district unit secretary Swapneshwar Sahu expressed concerns about many individuals from Bangladesh and the Rohingya people posing as residents of West Bengal and engaging in business in villages throughout Kendujhar district. He stated that these individuals are involved in various anti-social activities and called for stringent action from the administration to prevent future incidents. Noting that this is not an isolated case, he stressed the need for decisive action.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
In this case, a 9-year-old disabled tribal girl was assaulted by a Muslim man. There is a possibility that the crime could involve religious profiling, since past patterns show that some perpetrators have selected Hindu female victims in vulnerable situations. Hindu girls and women often face increased risk in such contexts, which makes this angle worth noting. However, it is also possible that the assault was an opportunistic act with no religious motive, based simply on the victim being accessible to the perpetrator at that moment. One could further argue that if the act were entirely without any religious consideration, an individual from the perpetrator’s own community would likely have been equally accessible. At present, there is no concrete evidence indicating a religious motive, and the victim’s family has not suggested any such angle. Because the available information is inconclusive, the case has been placed in the Undecided database. If further details emerge that point toward religious hostility or targeting based on faith, the case will be reclassified and added to the hate crime database.
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 
