Minor Hindu girl abducted by Muslim man, family suspects forced marriage
Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India 
17 January, 2025
Case Summary
A minor Hindu girl was abducted by a 25-year-old Muslim man, a father of three, from Basni, Jodhpur. The girl's family reported her missing on January 18, 2025, to the Basni police station. Station in-charge Nitin Dave confirmed that a case was registered based on the family's report, invoking sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The investigation led the police to Bihar, where the 16-year-old girl was recovered along with the Muslim man. Both were brought back to Jodhpur. The family's report stated that the man lured, kidnapped, and forcibly married their daughter. The accused was presented in court on January 29 and subsequently remanded. The girl was sent to Nari Niketan, a women's shelter.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been categorised as a religiously motivated hate crime under the prime category- Predatory proselytisation, of the tracker. Under this, the sub-category chosen is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. Further, the tertiary category selected under this is- Family claims grooming. Religious brainwashing essentially means the often subtle and forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up their religious beliefs to accept contrasting regimented ideas. Religious grooming or brainwashing also involves propaganda and manipulation. It involves the systematic effort, driven by religious malice and indoctrination, to persuade “non-believers’ to accept allegiance, command, or doctrine to and of a contrasting faith. Cases of such grooming or brainwashing are far more nuanced than direct threats, coercion, inducement and violence. In such cases, it is often seen that there is repeated, subtle and continual manipulation of the victim to induce disaffection towards their own faith and acceptance of the contrasting faith of the perpetrator. While subtle indoctrination is widely acknowledged as predatory, an element which is often understated in such conversions or the attempts of such conversion is the role of loyalty and trust which might develop between the perpetrator and the victim. Fiduciary relationships are often abused to affect such religious conversion. For example, an educator transmitting religious doctrine of a competing faith to a Hindu student. The Hindu student is likely to accept what the teacher is transmitting owing to existence of the fiduciary relationship. The exploitation of the fiduciary relationship to religiously indoctrinate victims would also be included in this category. Since the underlying animosity towards the victim’s faith forms the basis of predatory proselytization, such cases are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. In this instance, the minor girl was abducted by a Muslim man. The family of the victim stated that the man lured, kidnapped, and forcibly married their daughter. It is important to mention here that the underlying motivation of predatory proselytisation itself is animosity towards the professed faith of the victim. Furthermore, the victim in this case was a minor, which essentially means that the element of consent and genuine change of conscience was missing ab initio. It is a well-established fact that children are more susceptible to manipulation since they are still developing emotionally, cognitively, and socially. Their brains are not fully matured, making them more vulnerable to influence and less capable of critically evaluating information. Moreover, subtle manipulation tactics can be difficult to detect, especially when employed by trusted authority figures in positions of influence. This makes it challenging for parents, to identify and address instances of religious manipulations. Since the underlying offence, in this case, is against a child of a specific faith and involves subtle tactics of indoctrination, which obviously stems from a bias against the Hindu faith, this case has been documented as a hate crime.
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
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
