Hindu minor raped, 'Om' tattoo burnt with acid, forcefully fed beef: Muslim perpetrator admits being paid for Jihad to convert Hindu girls to Islam
Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, India 
1 January, 2025
Case Summary
A Hindu minor girl was gangraped and subjected to torture for her Hindu identity by four Muslim men in Uttar Pradesh's Moradabad district. According to reports, the 14-year-old victim was held captive in a dark room for two months, where she was gangraped, beaten and tortured. According to the FIR, a copy of which is with the Hinduphobia Tracker team, she was raped and an ‘Om’ tattoo on her hand was burned away with acid by the perpetrators. The accused forcefully shoved beef into her mouth and threatened her, warning that if she spoke to anyone about the ordeal, they would make her life a living hell. They threatened to kidnap her aunt and kill her uncle and brother as well and burn her face with acid. In the FIR, the victim recounted that the main accused, Salman, confessed to receiving substantial payments for engaging in 'Islamic Jihad' and converting Hindu girls to Islam. He arrogantly claimed to have converted many Hindu girls before. Addressing the victim, he said, "You are just a child; I have converted many Hindu children like you to Islam in the past." The victim's aunt, in her complaint, stated that the minor girl was returning from a tailor shop on January 2 2025, when the accused accosted her on the way and forcibly dragged the victim into the car and made her unconscious by making her smell an intoxicating substance. When she came to her senses, she found herself locked up in a room. Here, the accused took turns to rape her. The accused also burned the 'Om' tattoo on her hand with acid. Whenever she asked for food, the accused offered her beef, and when she protested against the same, the accused raped her and forcefully shoved the meat in her mouth. The accused beat her up and used various other ways to torture the minor until one day, the accused freed her and dropped her off in Bhojpur. She managed to reach home, after which she narrated her ordeal to her family members and aunt. The victim said that the accused threatened her that if she told anyone about what transpired, she and her family would be killed. Bhagatpur SHO Sanjay Kumar Panchal informed that based on the victim’s family complaint, 4 Muslim youths, Salman, Zubair, Rashid, and Arif, were booked under relevant sections of the BNS, POCSO Act and SC-ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Until this report was published, the main accused, Salman and two other accused were arrested, and the police were in search for the fourth accused.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case is a clear instance of a religiously motivated hate crime, as evidenced by multiple religious markers that warrant its inclusion under three prime categories in the tracker. The first is- Attack not resulting in death and under this, the sub-category selected is- Attack for Hindu identity. In several cases, Hindus are attacked merely for their Hindu identity without any perceived provocation. A classic example of this category of religiously motivated hate crime is a murder in 2016. 7 ISIS terrorists were convicted for shooting a school principal in Kanpur because they got ‘triggered’ seeing the Kalava on his wrist and tilak that he had put. In this, the Hindu victim had offered no provocation except for his Hindu religious identity. The motivation for the murder was purely religious, driven by religious supremacy. Such cases where Hindus are targeted merely for their religious identity would be documented as a hate crime under this category. The second is- Predatory proselytisation, and within this, the first sub-category 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. The second sub-category relevant under Predatory Proselytisation is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. Under this, three tertiary categories have been highlighted, based on case details, which are- Pattern of targeting Hindus, Rape and sexual assault/harassment and Conversion of Minor. 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. The third category within which this case has been placed is- Attack on Hindu religious representation. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Defiling religious customs. Sanatan Dharma is not a religion of one book, which is to say that while it has religious scriptures that form the central tenets of the faith, there are several traditions followed through thousands of years, mostly passed from generation to generation orally. There are several such customs and traditions that are followed by various Hindus and Hindu sects. Defiling of these traditions and customs is a breach of an individual or group’s religious practices. Such practices can range from dietary restrictions like not eating non-vegetarian food for a certain period of the year, not eating non-vegetarian food at all, not eating beef since the cow is considered holy in Hinduism, the sanctity of religious customs followed in the house (like many ISCKON devotees), etc. Any malicious action leading to the breach of such traditions or defilement of these traditions owing to animosity towards the faith or for the sake of activism stems not only from the lack of faith in the religion itself but also from disregard for the faith of the devotees who follow the customs/traditions and implicit bias against the faith, the tradition itself. Since these specific traditions are central to the faith of the devotees of that specific sect of Hindus, any non-compliance with these traditional rules would be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. This case is undeniably a religiously motivated hate crime, as the actions of the perpetrators clearly demonstrate a targeted attack on the victim’s Hindu identity rather than an act of random violence. The brutality inflicted upon her goes beyond physical and sexual violence, as the perpetrators deliberately attacked her religious beliefs, making it evident that their actions were driven by deep-seated animosity against Hindus and their faith and that their prime intention was to alienate the victim from her professed faith and convert her to Islam. The fact that the perpetrator burnt the sacred ‘OM’ tattoo on her hand with acid was not merely an act of violence but a calculated attempt to desecrate her religious identity. OM holds immense spiritual significance in Hinduism. By defiling this sacred mark, that too, so brutally, the perpetrators sought to erase the victim’s religious identity and humiliate her faith, reinforcing their deep-seated animosity toward Hinduism. Further, the religious animosity was evident as the perpetrator force-fed the victim beef. In Hinduism, the cow is venerated as sacred. Hindus abstain from eating beef as a religious principle, viewing it as an act of reverence toward the Gaumata. The accused deliberately forced beef into the victim’s mouth, an act that goes beyond physical coercion—it was an attempt to desecrate her faith, break her spirit, and subjugate her to their will by making her violate her religious beliefs. This forced desecration of Hindu customs demonstrates a calculated attempt to undermine her religious dignity and impose dominance over her, which aligns with patterns seen in cases of religious persecution and forced conversion tactics. Moreover, the admission of the accused that they received substantial payments for engaging in 'Islamic Jihad' and converting Hindu girls to Islam adds another layer of religious motivation to the crime, as it explicitly reveals a premeditated and systematic effort to target religiously profile Hindu girls for the explicit purpose of conversion. This statement underscores that the crime was not merely an isolated act but part of a larger, deliberate effort to manipulate and coerce Hindu women into religious conversion. The method used—luring the victim, subjecting her to abuse, and forcing conversion—demonstrates a calculated approach involving grooming, brainwashing, and manipulation. Additionally, the heinous nature of the crime, including sexual assault and extreme physical abuse, reinforces the coercive tactics employed to break the victim’s will and push her toward conversion. The fact that the victim was a minor further emphasizes the exploitative nature of the crime, where vulnerable individuals were deliberately preyed upon. The accused’s statements and actions clearly indicate that this was not a random crime but one rooted in religious bias, with a pre-planned intent to systematically target Hindu girls for conversion through coercion and violence. In this case, it is crucial to highlight that the targeted individual was a young Hindu girl, which inherently negates the possibility of genuine consent or a voluntary change of faith. It is widely recognized that young individuals are more susceptible to influence as they are still in the process of emotional, cognitive, and social development. Their ability to critically assess situations and resist coercion is not fully formed, making them more vulnerable to manipulation. Furthermore, when such tactics are employed by someone who has gained their trust, the deception becomes even harder to recognize. This not only makes it difficult for the victim to resist but also for their family to detect and prevent such exploitation. Given that the underlying offense specifically targeted a Hindu girl with the clear intent of religious conversion through coercion and abuse, the crime is evidently rooted in deep-seated bias against the Hindu faith and 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 1
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 0
Age Group
- Minor 1
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Case sub-judice
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
