Hindu girl survives attempt to be burned alive after rejecting marriage proposal from Muslim youth; accused faked his identity
Sonitpur, Assam, India 
4 February, 2025
Case Summary
In Assam’s Sonitpur district, a Hindu woman narrowly escaped a deadly assault after a Muslim man violently retaliated against her family for rejecting his marriage proposal. The incident occurred at the Dhekiajuli Sapoi Tea Estate, leaving two of her family members gravely injured. The victim, Lakshmi Tati, a woman from the Hindu Janajatiya community, was initially approached by Muhammad Abu Bakkar, who concealed his true identity when proposing marriage. After Lakshmi refused his proposal, Bakkar coerced her into coming to his house, but she managed to escape. Enraged by her defiance, Bakkar tracked her down late at night, forcibly entering her home with a vengeance in mind. In an act of retribution, Bakkar doused the house in petrol and set it ablaze, attempting to burn the entire family alive. The fire left Lakshmi’s uncle and brother severely injured. Fortunately, Lakshmi’s parents managed to escape unharmed. Following the attack, Lakshmi’s family lodged a police complaint at the Dhekiajuli Police Station. Swift police action led to Abu Bakkar’s arrest on the night of February 5. Lakshmi’s parents stated that Bakkar, fueled by resentment over their refusal to consent to his marriage proposal, forcibly abducted their daughter.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added as a religiously motivated hate crime under two prime categories of the tracker. The first is- Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Man pretends to be Hindu. 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 prime category selected here is- Attack not resulting in death. Within this, the sub-category relevant is- Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim. In several cases, Hindus are attacked for opposing religiously motivated crimes being committed against a fellow Hindu or simply for voicing an opinion opposing radical elements, who either have in the past or continue to persecute Hindus. In such cases, the initial attack against the victim, against which the Hindu was trying to defend the victim, would also need to be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the initial crime itself was religiously motivated and the subsequent crime of attempting to save the victim or speaking against the radical elements ends up inviting a violent attack, it would also be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. This case exhibits multiple religious markers that clearly establish it as a religiously motivated crime specifically targeting a Hindu victim. Firstly, the accused, a Muslim man, deliberately concealed his religious identity to deceive the Hindu girl while proposing marriage. This act itself demonstrates a clear bias and malicious intent towards the victim’s religion. By hiding his true identity, he manipulated her trust and targeted her under false pretences, indicating a premeditated effort to exploit her based on her religious background. Moreover, the violent retaliation after the victim rejected his proposal further reinforces the religious motive. The severity of the attack, combined with the deception, aligns with a well-documented pattern of Hindu women being targeted for exploitation, often with an underlying agenda of religious conversion. Such cases are not isolated incidents but part of a broader trend where identity concealment is used as a strategic tool to entrap Hindu women before coercion or violence follows upon resistance. Thus, the perpetrator’s deliberate decision to hide his religious identity strongly underscores the religious motive behind this crime. In such instances, identity concealment is not just a deceptive tactic for personal reasons but a calculated strategy rooted in religious profiling and targeting. The accused was evidently aware that the victim, being Hindu, would likely refuse his advances if she knew his real identity, and he circumvented this by lying, which directly points to a religiously driven intent. This deception reflects a larger pattern where Hindu women are specifically singled out using false identities, often with coercion or conversion in mind. Such targeted victimisation based on religion not only demonstrates a fundamental disregard for Hinduism but also exposes a deeper animosity toward Hindus and their beliefs. This is why this case has been included in the tracker, as it exemplifies a clear instance of religiously motivated hate and exploitation.
Victim Details
Total Victim
5
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 3
- Female 2
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 5
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 0
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 3
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 2
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
