Hindu woman deceived into marriage through Hindu rituals by a Muslim man posing as Hindu; pressured to convert to Islam
Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, India 
9 March, 2025
Case Summary
In Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, a Hindu woman was lured into marriage by a Muslim man named Gufran Ahmed. He befriended her on Instagram and Facebook, posing as Jay Prakash. Gufran married the woman in a temple according to Hindu rituals and later engaged in sexual relations with her. He secretly recorded obscene videos of her. Later he revealed his true identity and blackmailed the victim to convert to Islam and marry him under Islamic rituals. According to media reports, the woman lived in a village within the Ubhaon police station area. She alleged that Gufran, a resident of Jamuan Khampur, deceived her by posing as a Hindu on social media. He introduced her to his friends, Ashraf and Yakub, to further gain her trust. After marrying her in a temple through Hindu rituals on 2nd March 2025, Gufran recorded explicit videos without her consent. He revealed his true identity and threatened to release the videos on the internet unless she converted to Islam and remarried him according to Islamic practices. Distressed by the threats and coercion, the woman filed a police complaint against Gufran and his associates, Ashraf and Yakub. The police arrested Gufran, and a case was registered under sections 64 (punishment for rape), 61(2) (participating in a criminal conspiracy), 304(2) (snatching), 318(4) (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code, along with relevant sections of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category of- Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. Under this, the first sub-category selected is- Man Pretends to be Hindu. The tertiary categories selected within this are- Name changed and Marries as per Hindu rituals. 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 relevant here is- Forced conversion before marriage. Within this, the tertiary category selected is- Forced to do Nikah. In such cases, a non-Hindu man is in a relationship with a Hindu woman when the pressure to convert her religion begins to manifest. The relationship in such cases is mostly consensual and the religious identity of the perpetrator is known to the Hindu woman in the relationship, however, at some point during the relationship, the non-Hindu man starts to force the victim to convert her religion and give up her Hindu religious identity. In such cases, the methods used to force the victim to convert her religion often revolve around force-feeding beef, forcing her to wear hijab, forcing her to read the Kalma or even pressurizing the victim to do ‘Nikah’, which is marriage under Islamic law, with a prerequisite being conversion to Islam. Cases where a Hindu woman consensually converts to Islam in a relationship will be left out of the hate crime database, even though it could be argued in several cases that the conversion was a result of religious brainwashing. The third sub-category chosen here is- Blackmailed to convert. When Hindu women are in a relationship with non-Hindu men, there are cases where the woman is blackmailed to convert her religion, owing to her religious identity of being a Hindu. Such relationships may be consensual with the religious identity of the non-Hindu man known to the victim, however, there could be cases where the relationship is not consensual and the non-Hindu man starts blackmailing a Hindu woman to convert her religion. In these cases, it is often seen that the Hindu woman is blackmailed with intimate photos and/or videos, threats of harm to her or her family, threats of violence etc. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. 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 Muslim accused married the Hindu woman as per Hindi custom to mislead her into believing that he was a Hindu. The choice to marry her in a temple, a sacred space for Hindus, further highlights the malicious intent behind the act. This is a significant violation of the woman’s religious beliefs, as it exploits her faith and religious practices to entrap her in a marriage founded on lies. The use of a temple marriage serves to legitimise the union in the eyes of the woman and her community, making the deception all the more egregious. Further, he recorded obscene videos of the victim and used them to blackmail her into converting to Islam and performing Nikah with him. This act goes beyond mere criminal behaviour; it is a calculated and malicious attack on her religious identity. The use of blackmail to force conversion is a clear demonstration of religious hate, as it targets the victim's religious beliefs and seeks to erase her identity. This case is a glaring example of how deep-seated intolerance can manifest in violent and coercive actions, with the ultimate goal of religious subjugation and domination. The deliberate nature of the deception and the subsequent attempt to force conversion highlights the extent of disdain the accused harboured for the victim's faith, making this a clear case of religiously motivated hate.
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
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
