Case Summary

In Fatehpur district, Uttar Pradesh, a minor Dalit Hindu girl was kidnapped, raped, pressured for religious conversion and force-fed meat by a Muslim man named Mohammad Yasin alias Chhotu. According to reports, the minor Hindu girl was kidnapped on July 7, 2025, by a Muslim man. In a swift action from the police, the girl was recovered 2 days later, and the accused was arrested. Initially, she told the police and the court that she had gone out of her free will, based on which Yasin was only charged with disturbing public peace and was released on bail shortly after. However, the girl later approached the Superintendent of Police along with her family and submitted a complaint detailing her ordeal about what actually happened. She stated that she was abducted by Yasin and was taken to a mosque in a different city for religious conversion. The Muslim man pressured her to convert to Islam and marry him. During this time, she was also raped and force-fed meat by the accused. After the victim's family approached police initially, Yasin brought her back under pressure from his mother, sister, and sister-in-law. She further stated that she was forced to give a false statement before the court by a woman constable at the police station. She said she was threatened by the woman constable that her family would be jailed if she spoke the truth. The police did not even allow her to meet her family during this time, even though the girl was a minor. After these new revelations, police recorded her statements again, and she was to be presented before the court. As of the date of writing this report, the accused was immediately arrested due to the serious nature of the crime, following these revelations. The investigation was ongoing.

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Why it is Hate Crime ?

The first primary category selected here is: - Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. Within it, the sub-category selected here is: - Forced conversion before marriage, with the tertiary category being: - 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. In such cases, typically, two patterns emerge. First, when the relationship is 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. The second is when the woman gets into a marriage with the man pretending to share her faith. Later, when the truth is revealed, the man starts pressuring the woman to convert her religion and give up her religious identity. In both the situations, 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 other primary category selected is: - Predatory Proselytisation. Within it, 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 second sub-category selected here is: - Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination, with the tertiary category being: - Conversion of minor, and Rape and sexual assault/harassment. 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. This case has been added to the tracker because a minor Dalit Hindu girl was abducted, raped, and pressured for religious conversion by a Muslim man. Since the victim is a minor, 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. This case demonstrates a calculated strategy of targeting those who are less able to resist or understand the long-term implications of conversion, making it a significant case of religious-motivated hate crime. The abduction and rape of the victim served not merely as isolated crimes, but as instrumental acts aimed at religious domination. By abducting her, he tried to cut her off from her family, her cultural roots, and any support system that might have helped her resist conversion efforts. Similarly, rape was not just an act of sexual violence but a psychological weapon to mentally subjugate her and break her will in order to force compliance. Sexual violence in such contexts is often employed to assert power over both the victim and the religious community she represents, making it a symbolic assault on collective Hindu identity. She was also force-fed meat, which again was not just about food; it was a direct step toward conversion. This wasn't random but deliberate. Forcing a Hindu to eat meat is a direct assault on Hindu faith and identity. Compelling a Hindu to consume meat 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. Forcing a Hindu to consume meat violates not just personal conscience but deeply held dharma vows, and such coercion constitutes an assault on religious freedom and dignity.