Divorced Hindu woman coerced into marriage by Muslim man posing as Hindu; forced to convert along with her children
Vadodara, Gujarat, India 
13 February, 2025
Case Summary
Vadodara Police in Gujarat arrested a man for deceiving a divorced Hindu woman by pretending to be ‘Manoj’ while hiding his true identity as ‘Mohsin’. After his true identity was uncovered, the accused pressured the woman and her children to convert to Islam. The case was registered at Bapod Police Station, and the accused was arrested. Speaking to the media about the case, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Zone 2, Panna Momaya, said, “They got married in 2022 and were living in the Bapod area. On January 14, the woman found out that the man was Muslim, not Hindu. When she questioned him about this, the accused beat her up and threatened to kill her and her children. He also tried to coerce her and her kids into converting to Islam.”
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The case has been added to the tracker under the prime category of- Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. Within this, the first sub-category selected is- Man pretends to be Hindu, and under this, the tertiary category chosen 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 selected under the above-mentioned category is- Forced conversion after marriage. In such cases, a non-Hindu man marries a Hindu woman and the force/pressure to convert to Islam begins after marriage. In such cases, the marriage is consensual in most cases and often, there is no element of the man hiding his religious identity. 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 to Islam after marriage. In such cases, there is application of force by the perpetrator, including, denial of the woman’s religious rights. Some of the means by which the woman is forced/pressured to convert include force-feeding beef, forced to read the Kalma, forced to wear a hijab, forced for 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 third sub-category under which this case has been placed 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 pressurizing 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. What gives this case a distinct religious angle is that the Muslim perpetrator actively hid his religion and pretended to be a Hindu to ensnare the Hindu woman. This itself is a clear manifestation of bias and malicious intent towards the victim's religion. By concealing his true identity, he exploited her trust, targeting her under false pretences. This indicates a premeditated intent to manipulate her based on her religious background. In cases like these, the tactic of adopting a false Hindu identity to manipulate and "ensnare" a Hindu individual is not just an act of personal betrayal but can also be interpreted as an expression of disdain or disregard for Hinduism and its customs that reflects a deeper animosity towards Hindus and their beliefs. Another religious marker here is that the perpetrator started forcing the Hindu woman and her children to convert to Islam as soon as his true identity was revealed. When she confronted him about his identity, the accused assaulted her and threatened to kill her and her children. Basically, the Muslim perpetrator targeted the Hindu victim specifically owing to her religious identity. He, at first, trapped her by concealing his religious identity. After that, when his real identity was revealed to the victim, he tried to forcefully change her religious identity to Islam. Further, he also assaulted her and threatened to kill her and her children. This was an arm-twisting tactic to coerce the victim into complying with his conversion demands. Every detail points towards the fact that the perpetrator targeted the victim because of her religious identity. Since his motivation was driven by religious hate, this case has been added to the 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 0
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
