Married Hindu woman deceived by Christian man on Instagram; victim's father says his daughter was lured into conversion

Case ID : 90a0c2a | Location : Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Thu, 3 April, 2025

Case ID : 90a0c2a

Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, India

3 April, 2025

Married Hindu woman deceived by Christian man on Instagram; victim's father says his daughter was lured into conversion

Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes

Brainwashed and/or groomed

Family claims grooming

Case Summary

In Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, the father of a married Hindu woman had approached the police, stating that his daughter was coerced into converting to Christianity by a youth who lured her on social media. According to reports, the woman resided in a colony near the Uttarakhand border. She was employed at a private company in Gurugram, Haryana. A local Christian youth initiated contact with her via Instagram, leading to a friendship. Over time, he pressured her to convert to his religion. Upon her refusal, he purportedly began to harass her. The woman's family became aware of the situation and reported the matter to the police, submitting a formal complaint. In response, members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal gathered at the local police station, demanding action against the accused and expressing their outrage over the incident. They emphasised the need for authorities to address such matters promptly to prevent communal tensions. The woman had been married several years prior but had been living separately from her husband due to personal disagreements, residing with her two children at her parental home. The accused, upon learning of her marital status, continued his attempts to persuade her to convert, leading to further distress. The police facilitated discussions between both parties to understand the situation better. Till the time this case was updated on the Hinduphobia Tracker, no formal charges had been filed, but authorities were closely monitoring the situation to ensure the safety and well-being of all individuals involved.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the category of- Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Brainwashed and/or groomed, and the tertiary category selected is- Family claims grooming. In our database, we have not added incidents where women have converted to another religion of their free will and no allegations of forced/involuntary conversion have been made. However, there are certain cases of conversion where the consent itself is a result of the brainwashing or grooming of a minor by the non-Hindu perpetrator trying to victimise a woman for her Hindu religious identity. The phenomenon of grooming points to non-Hindu perpetrators identifying their Hindu victims’ vulnerabilities and exploiting them over months and sometimes years, to extract the supposed ‘consent’ in order to convert their religion. In most cases of grooming, the victims are minors or the grooming started when the victim was a minor. In other cases of grooming, the non-Hindu perpetrator brainwashes and grooms a minor victim to extract their trust and then proceeds to rape them repeatedly with the intent of converting them to their faith. It is pertinent to understand here that when the victim is a minor, the ‘consent’ to convert or enter into a romantic relationship with an adult itself is redundant – addressed by POCSO. While every case of conversion of a minor and incidents of establishing a physical relationship with a minor by an adult is a crime, for the purpose of this database, a case would be considered a hate crime only if there is a distinct religious angle to the grooming. For example, in the UK, if a Hindu minor is targeted by Pakistani grooming gangs, it would be considered a hate crime because the victims are specifically targeted owing to their non-Muslim religious identity with the perpetrators being Muslim. In other cases, if a Hindu minor is brainwashed into entering a physical relationship with the non-Hindu adult perpetrator and the family alleges grooming/brainwashing of the minor to convert her religion, it would form a part of this database. If the victim is a Hindu adult, the case would form a part of this database only if the victim herself says that she was brainwashed/groomed to convert her religion. However, if the victim is deceased (murdered or otherwise), the case would form a part of this database if her family/friends provided testimony that the victim was brainwashed/groomed to convert her religion. Since these crimes have a distinct religious angle where the victim is being targeted owing to her Hindu religious identity, these cases are considered a hate crime. This case qualifies as a religiously motivated hate crime as it involves an attempt to manipulate a Hindu woman into religious conversion through coercion and harassment. The accused, a Christian youth, initially befriended the woman through Instagram and gradually pressured her to renounce her Hindu faith and embrace Christianity. Despite her repeated refusals, he allegedly persisted in his efforts, subjecting her to harassment. The fact that her family has explicitly accused him of grooming—establishing a relationship with deceptive intentions—further indicates that his actions were not driven by personal affection but by a targeted attempt to erase her religious identity. Forced religious conversions, particularly when involving deceit, coercion, or psychological manipulation, stem from an inherent bias against the victim’s original faith, demonstrating an underlying animosity towards Hinduism. Moreover, such cases often exploit vulnerable individuals, particularly women, making them victims of religiously motivated aggression. Given these aspects, the case aligns with a pattern of targeted religious manipulation and coercion, making it a clear instance of a hate crime.