Minor Hindu girl molested, Hinduism denigrated in forced conversion attempt by Muslim perpetrator in Jhajha
Jha-Jha, Bihar, India 
27 June, 2025
Case Summary
In the Jhajha police station area, Bihar, a minor Hindu girl was molested and pressured to convert to Islam by the accused, Mohammad Sohail. The accused also denigrated Hinduism. On the evening, the minor Hindu girl was returning home after her tuition when Mohammad Sohail stopped her and forcibly took her aside. He molested her and pressured her to convert to Islam. The accused said, "There is nothing in Hinduism; you must adopt Islam." When the girl resisted and raised an alarm, the accused threatened to kill her and her family. Terrified, the girl went home and informed her parents about the entire incident, after which an FIR was lodged at the police station. According to the victim's father, this was not the first such incident. On February 25, 2023, Mohammad Sohail entered their house at 2 AM. At that time, the matter was settled with the intervention of local representatives, but the accused repeated his actions. Jhajha police station in-charge, Sanjay Kumar Singh, reported, "Based on the victim's statement, a case has been registered under the POCSO Act and other relevant sections. The accused has been arrested and sent to judicial custody."
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The prime category under which this case has been placed is - Predatory proselytisation, and within this, the 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 other sub-category selected is - Attempting to convert/converting by denigrating Hinduism. In several cases, Hindus are converted or an attempt is made to convert Hindus by denigrating their faith, Hinduism. In such cases, the Hindus associate with the non-Hindu perpetrators often by choice and then, the attempt to convert them by insulting their faith, showing the faith down etc begins. An example of this would be a non-Hindu gathering where the Hindus are attending the gathering of their own free will. However, once they attend the gathering, there is an explicit attempt to convert them by abusing their faith and hailing the faith of the perpetrator. The denigration of the Hindu faith is often based on misrepresentation of the Hindu faith, its doctrine and scriptures and insult to espoused traditions if not blatant lies about Hindu beliefs and ways. Such conversions or attempts at conversions are driven by animosity towards the Hindu faith and are therefore documented as religiously motivated hate crimes. The other sub-category selected is - Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. Within it, the tertiary categories selected are - 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. In this case, a minor Hindu girl was targeted, molested and forced into religious conversion by a Muslim man. The actions—ranging from intimidation, humiliation, and physical or verbal abuse to explicit threats—are not random acts of violence but are rooted in animosity towards the victim’s faith. When such behaviour is aimed at forcing a person to abandon their religion and adopt another, it infringes upon their fundamental rights and freedoms. The discriminatory motive, particularly when accompanied by threats and coercion, nullifies the victim’s right to freely practice their religion and creates an environment of fear and subjugation based solely on religious identity. This targeted animosity and the intent to suppress religious freedom through intimidation are core elements of a religiously motivated hate crime. The statement by the Muslim perpetrator, “There is nothing in Hinduism; you must adopt Islam,” constitutes a hate crime because it directly insults and devalues the victim’s religion, aiming to make her feel inferior about her Hindu identity. By dismissing Hinduism as worthless and pressuring the victim to convert, the perpetrator expresses clear animosity towards her faith and attempts to coerce her into abandoning it. This not only violates her right to religious freedom but also targets her for psychological harm based solely on her religious identity. The combination of denigration and coercion, motivated by hostility towards Hinduism, makes this act a religiously motivated hate crime. It is further important to note here that the victim was a minor, which means the element of consent and genuine change of conscience was missing ab initio. Minors, due to their young age and lack of maturity, are particularly vulnerable to manipulation and coercion. They may not have the ability to fully understand the implications of converting to another religion, and the Muslim perpetrator purposely targeted and exploited this vulnerability of the victim. Since this case exemplifies the use of coercion and manipulation to achieve religious conversion, it is a blatant act of religious hate, which is why it has been documented here in the hate tracker.
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 1
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
