Hindu minor abducted and raped, victim's family says Muslim accused kidnapped her for 'love jihad'

Case ID : 90a09bb | Location : Udaipur, Rajasthan, India | Date of Incident : Mon, 29 April, 2024

Case ID : 90a09bb

Udaipur, Rajasthan, India

29 April, 2024

Hindu minor abducted and raped, victim's family says Muslim accused kidnapped her for 'love jihad'

Predatory Proselytisation

Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination

Family claims grooming

Rape and sexual assault/harassment

Case Summary

The Udaipur court sentenced a Muslim man named Akram Khan alias Vikram, from Khanjan Panarwa, to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 20,000 for kidnapping and raping a minor Hindu girl in a case of religiously motivated deception. The incident began on August 15, 2023, when the girl went missing from an event, prompting her father to file an abduction report with the rural police on April 30, 2024. The father accused the Muslim man of kidnapping her for love jihad. Investigations revealed that Akram held her captive in Khanjan village and subjected her to sexual assault. After the police recovered the victim and recorded her statement, a case of kidnapping and rape was registered against the accused. During the trial, Special Public Prosecutor Chetanpuri Goswami presented 15 witnesses and 25 documents as evidence. Based on the findings, the presiding officer of the POCSO-1 court, Ram Suresh Prasad, convicted the accused, sentencing him to two years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 under Sections 344 (kidnapping) and 10 years of rigorous imprisonment with an additional Rs 10,000 fine under Section 376 (rape). Additionally, the court directed the District Legal Services Authority to grant the victim Rs 1 lakh as compensation under the Victim Compensation Scheme.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category- Predatory Proselytisation. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. Within this two tertiary categories- Rape and sexual assault/harassment and Family claims grooming, have also been selected based on case details. 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 Hindu girl was kidnapped and sexually assaulted. 15 witnesses and 25 documents were produced in the court as evidence, which held the Muslim perpetrator guilty. The family in the court accused the perpetrator of kidnapping her for love jihad. The family's testimony in court strengthens the claim that this was not merely a case of abduction and sexual assault but a premeditated act with a clear religious motive. Their statement highlights that the accused did not just target the victim for personal reasons but specifically because of her religious identity. The deliberate deception, manipulation, and eventual coercion of the victim align with a pattern where vulnerable Hindu women are systematically targeted, isolated, and pressured into religious conversion. The element of "love jihad," as mentioned by the victim’s family, is crucial in understanding the larger intent behind the crime. It reflects a calculated effort to lure the victim into a false sense of security, only to later impose religious and ideological dominance over her. Grooming in such cases is not simply about emotional control but about breaking the victim’s connection with her faith and cultural identity. The details underscore that the crime was not just an act of personal violation but an expression of deeper hostility toward the victim’s religious background, making it a targeted attack on her faith and identity. In this case, it is crucial to highlight that the targeted individual was a minor 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 recognise. 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, the crime is evidently rooted in deep-seated bias against the Hindu faith and has been documented as a hate crime.