Hindu transgenders coerced to convert to Islam, forced to eat beef and insulted for worshipping Hindu deities; brutally assaulted and threatened with eviction for non-compliance
Nanded, Maharashtra, India 
28 June, 2025
Case Summary
In Nanded, Maharashtra, several Hindu transgenders were targeted for forced conversion to Islam by Muslim transgenders. When the Hindu individuals refused to stop worshipping Hindu gods and convert, they were subjected to assaults, threats, extortion, public humiliation, and even attempted murder. The victims were also pressured to eat beef and meat. The perpetrators issued direct threats, warning the victims that they could not live in Nanded or Parbhani unless they gave up their dharma and accepted Islam. The Muslim accused demanded that the Hindu transgenders stop worshipping Hindu gods and accept Islam, and further extorted ₹10,000 as a weekly bribe. Videos capturing the testimonies of the Hindu transgender victims have gone viral, exposing the extent of the religious coercion and violence they faced. One Hindu transgender shared, “They had an issue with one of our members who wore kumkum on her forehead. So, they threw her off a moving train and warned us that if we raised our voices, our situation would be even worse.” Another victim recounted, “They threw four of our transgender individuals from a train for not accepting Islam. Ten years ago, they threw one from a train, and out of fear, she converted.” Another individual revealed that fatwas were issued against them for refusing to comply with conversion demands. They shared that they faced not only threats of violence, but were also repeatedly attacked with sharp weapons and even thrown from moving trains for standing firm in their decision not to convert. Hindu transgenders had nude videos made viral, their phone numbers written in public toilets, and received threatening phone calls. One victim said, “When we came to them after being mistreated by our families, we were treated well at first. However, later, they pressured us to convert with promises of financial gain and social status. We were deceived into signing bonds and threatened when we tried to leave.” Muskan Khan and Farida, two Muslim transgender people, told Hindu transgender individuals, “If you want to live in Nanded and Parbhani, you must accept Islam and follow our culture.” On Eid, Muskan and Farida demanded that Hindu transgender people eat beef and meat. Those who refused were threatened with severe consequences like eviction and even death. When some Hindu transgenders fled to Parbhani to escape this persecution, Muskan and Farida tracked them down and assaulted them again. A transgender person was also brutally attacked just for showing support to fellow Hindu transgender victims. Hindu transgenders expressed that they are not the aggressors and wish to live peacefully, but are facing relentless religious coercion and life-threatening intimidation. Many fear for their lives and believe conversion is being forced through fear, violence, and humiliation. One of the victims expressed fear that those who have come forward on camera to speak the truth may face violent retaliation or even be killed for speaking out against the Muslim transgender accused involved. Not only did the Hindu Transgender victims face grave threats, but a Hindu activist standing in support of the transgender victims also faced threatening and abusive calls, some even from Islamic countries around the world. The repeated targeting of these individuals has raised serious concerns about religious coercion and physical violence against members of the Hindu transgender community.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker un the primary category of - Predatory Proselytisation. The sub-category selected here 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 - Harassment for conversion leading to exodus. There have been cases where the Hindus living in an area, often with a majority dwelling belonging to non-Hindus or those harbouring animosity towards the Hindu faith, the Hindu residents experience pressure and threats. The pressure, threats or coercion is employed with two aims – the non-Hindu residents of the area want the Hindu residents to either convert their religion to the religion of the dominant residents or leave the area and relocate, so the area could be turned into an exclusive ghetto for adherents of the non-Hindu faith or those who harbour animosity towards the Hindu faith. In several cases, the aim of exodus is explicit. However, in several cases, the demand for exodus of Hindu residents is not explicit, however, harassment by non-Hindu residents leaves the Hindu residents no option but to leave the area, thereby, turning the area into an exclusive ghetto of non-Hindu residents. In such cases, there are instances of harassment or threats to the Hindu residents explicitly. For example, in the Hauz Qazi case of 2019, the Muslim residents claimed that mob violence against the Hindu residents had been triggered by a parking dispute. However, the violence did turn religious with a temple being desecrated and being directed specifically against the Hindu residents. The Hindu residents of the area were clear that the violence was religiously motivated and one of the motives was to affect an exodus of the Hindu residents. In such cases, even though the perpetrators have not explicitly expressed the aim of affecting exodus, the given circumstances and harassment, coupled with prevailing circumstances and precedent point to the intention of exodus and therefore would be categorized under this sub-category. Such crimes are religiously motivated and therefore are hate crimes. The other sub-category selected is - Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. Within it, the tertiary category selected is - Pattern of targeting Hindus. 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. The other sub-category selected is - Conversion/attempts to convert by inducement. Predatory Proselytisation is not just limited to threat, harassment, force and violence, but it also has contours of stealth. In several cases, the Hindu victim is exploited to convert, with non-Hindus taking advantage of their poverty. In such cases, the Hindu victim who is suffering financially is offered monetary benefits, including lucrative offers for jobs, health treatment, education, etc, to induce the victim into changing his/her religion. In such cases, the religious identity of the victim and the aim to disenfranchise him from his faith form the heart of the crime. Also, taking advantage of and exploiting an individual’s economic vulnerabilities is widely acknowledged as exploitation, forms of which are often penalised by law. Such cases therefore are considered religiously motivated hate crimes since the victim’s religious identity forms the very heart of the crime itself. The other primary selected is - Attack not resulting in death. The sub-category selected is - Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim. In several cases, Hindus are attacked for opposing religiously motivated crimes being committed against a fellow Hindu or simply for voicing an opinion opposing radical elements, who either have in the past or continue to persecute Hindus. In such cases, the initial attack against the victim, against which the Hindu was trying to defend the victim, would also need to be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the initial crime itself was religiously motivated and the subsequent crime of attempting to save the victim or speaking against the radical elements ends up inviting a violent attack, it would also be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. In this case, the Hindu transgenders were subjected to extreme violent coercion, including death threats, physical assaults, extortion, and humiliation, solely because they refused to stop worshipping Hindu gods and convert to Islam. Their religious identity was directly targeted, and the harassment aimed to break their resolve to remain Hindu. The acts were not generic crimes but religiously motivated attempts to forcefully change their belief system. The accused explicitly demanded that the Hindu transgenders stop worshipping Hindu gods, showing clear contempt for Hindu faith and practices. This attempt to convert them was not neutral but rooted in religious hatred, where their gods and symbols (like kumkum) were targeted. Denigrating Hinduism to promote another religion is a textbook example of hate-fuelled conversion, and thus qualifies as a hate crime. Transgender Hindus were also forced to eat beef and meat. Forcing a Hindu to eat beef is a direct assault on Hindu faith and identity. The cow is regarded as sacred in Hindu dharma, and reverence for her is not merely cultural but rooted in centuries of religious tradition and scripture. Compelling a Hindu to consume beef is not a neutral act; it is a deliberate act of humiliation and spiritual violation. It is used as a tool of religious domination intended to break the victim’s connection to their faith. Moreover, Hindu dharma prescribes dietary disciplines as a part of spiritual practice. Many Hindus follow a vegetarian diet as a sacred vow, while others abstain specifically from beef. Forcing a Hindu to consume meat, especially beef, violates not just personal conscience but deeply held dharma vows, and such coercion constitutes an assault on religious freedom and dignity. The sustained violence and threats forced some Hindu transgender individuals to flee to Parbhani, thereby indicating a forced exodus driven by religious persecution. The continued pursuit and assault in Parbhani by the same Muslim transgenders, Muskan and Farida, shows that the objective was not only conversion but also to displace those who refused. This pattern of coercion, intimidation, and eventual forced flight is a strong indicator that the perpetrators sought to either convert the Hindu individuals or drive them away, aligning this with the broader goal of creating exclusive religious spaces or asserting religious dominance. Even in the absence of an explicit statement about forcing an exodus, the circumstances and sequence of events demonstrate the intended religious cleansing. This case shows a clear pattern of predatory proselytisation targeting Hindu transgenders specifically because of their religious identity. The Muslim transgenders initially extended support and friendship, gaining the trust of vulnerable Hindu individuals who had been abandoned or mistreated by their families. Once trust was established, the victims were groomed and subtly pressured to abandon their worship of Hindu gods and convert to Islam, with promises of money, status, and community acceptance. This is not an isolated incident. The testimonies reveal that such targeting has been occurring for over a decade, including an earlier case where a Hindu transgender person was thrown from a train and converted out of fear. The repeated use of deception, manipulation, and religious coercion, coupled with threats of violence, points to a systematic attempt to eradicate Hindu identity within the transgender community. The abuse of emotional and social vulnerability to coerce Hindus into changing their faith constitutes religious grooming, and the consistent pattern of targeting Hindus confirms that this is not a general community dispute but a religiously motivated hate crime rooted in deep-seated hostility toward Hindu dharma. Victims were offered cash, social status, and community acceptance if they converted to Islam. The fact that these inducements were made conditional on renouncing Hindu dharma makes it a religiously motivated exploitation. Offering financial gain as a bait to sever religious identity is a form of targeted, discriminatory exploitation and hence qualifies as a hate crime. One Hindu transgender was brutally attacked for supporting fellow Hindu transgenders and for resisting forced conversion attempts. This was a targeted retaliation for opposing religious radicalism. Additionally, a Hindu woman activist who stood in support of the transgender victims and raised her voice against the coercion has since been subjected to continuous harassment and threatening calls, including from Islamic countries, aimed at silencing her. These assaults were not random or personal; they were clearly motivated by religious hostility and aimed at punishing those who intervened to protect Hindus under threat. When individuals are attacked simply for opposing religious persecution or defending fellow Hindus, the violence becomes a clear expression of religiously motivated hate, and hence qualifies as a hate crime under this sub-category. Hence, this incident qualifies as a hate crime against Hindus, as it involves the deliberate targeting of Hindu individuals for their religious identity. The victims were harassed, assaulted, and coerced to abandon their worship of Hindu deities, forced to eat beef, and subjected to ongoing threats and violence. Disclaimer: The exact date when the victim's ordeal began is not specified in the available reports. Therefore, for documentation purposes, the date recorded is based on when the incident was first reported in the media. It is noteworthy that the issue was initially highlighted on social media prior to media coverage.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
third
Sources 
