Minor Hindu boy tied with chains, forced to convert to Islam and observe Roza by his Muslim stepfather
Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh, India 
3 March, 2025
Case Summary
In Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh, a minor boy was forcibly made to convert to another religion by his own mother and stepfather, who kept him chained. On Tuesday, 4th March, the boy released a video showing himself bound in chains and pleaded for help. After the video went viral, the police reached his home, cut the chains, and brought him to the police station. A case of forced religious conversion has been registered against his mother and stepfather. The boy, who studied up to the 8th grade, alleged that his father passed away nearly 12 years ago. Two years later, his mother married a Muslim man named Rauf Shah and converted to Islam. This was Rauf’s second marriage. After some time, both his mother and stepfather began pressuring him to accept Islam. When he refused, they chained him up and forced him to observe fasting (Roza). The police detained the boy’s mother for questioning. She claimed that her son was addicted to drugs and often caused trouble at home, which is why he was tied up. She also stated that complaints had been lodged with the police about this matter before. Following the interrogation, the police released her with a bail notice while efforts were underway to locate Rauf, who works as a truck driver.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category- Predatory Proselytisation. Under this, the first sub-category selected is- Harassment, threat, 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 under which this case has been placed is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination, where 'Conversion of minor' has been selected as the tertiary category. 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. This case exemplifies a clear instance of coercive religious conversion, where a minor was subjected to captivity, pressure, and forceful religious imposition by his own mother and Muslim stepfather. The boy was not only physically restrained in chains but was also compelled to adopt Islamic practices against his will, including fasting during Ramadan. This reflects a calculated effort to erode his Hindu identity and impose a religious transformation through duress. The deliberate attempt to force the minor into conversion aligns with a broader pattern of predatory proselytisation, where vulnerable individuals—particularly minors—are manipulated or coerced into changing their faith. Since the victim here is a minor, it 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 they are employed by trusted authority figures in positions of influence. Since the underlying offence in this case is against children 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 1
- Female 0
- 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
Perpetrators not caught
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
