Hindu Dalit minor lured and exploited for the third time; multiple Hindu girls targeted by Muslim accused

Case ID : 9957fcd | Location : Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Sun, 20 July, 2025

Case ID : 9957fcd

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

20 July, 2025

Hindu Dalit minor lured and exploited for the third time; multiple Hindu girls targeted by Muslim accused

Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes

Brainwashed and/or groomed

Family claims grooming

Rape and sexual assault/harassment

Conversion of minor

Pattern of targeting Hindu minors

Case Summary

In the Aishbagh area, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, a 16-year-old Hindu Dalit girl was lured away by a Muslim man. The accused had targeted several other Hindu girls as well. The Hindu victim was also subjected to molestation, physical assault and mental torture by the Muslim accused. According to news reports, the Muslim perpetrator was identified as Tahir Hussain alias Tahir Qureshi. As per the victim's family, their daughter was lured away for the third time by Tahir, a resident of Kanpur. The family reported that Tahir had previously abducted their daughter twice, and on both occasions, the police were able to recover her. However, on this occasion, the accused not only lured the girl away but also subjected her to both physical and mental exploitation while keeping her in a massage parlour. The girl’s mother further stated that this time the police refused to listen to their complaint. They even scolded and turned them away from the police station. Reports stated that Tahir found the victim a job in a massage parlour, where she earned money, which Tahir then took away from her. Reports confirmed that Tahir had similarly targeted several other Hindu girls. The Bazarkhala police inspector stated that a team had been formed to investigate this incident. However, the victim’s family maintained that, despite their appeals, an FIR had not been filed by the police. The family unequivocally demanded that a case be registered against Tahir and that he be imprisoned to ensure their daughter’s safety. The girl's mother stated that Tahir had mentally enslaved her daughter and destroyed her future. The family also appealed to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for intervention.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. Within this, the subcategory selected is- Brainwashed and/or Groomed. Within the tertiary category selected is- 'Family claims Grooming', 'Rape and sexual assault/ harassment', 'Conversion of minor', and 'Pattern of targeting Hindu minors'. 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. In this case, the minor Hindu girl was lured away by a Muslim man. It is 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. Secondly, the girl was repeatedly lured away by the accused, Tahir, illustrating clear predatory intent. The series of abductions, as the victim's family stated, makes it clear that this was not an isolated incident. Each time, the perpetrator used manipulation to extract the minor from the safety of her home and community. Once separated from her loved ones, the minor was subjected to both physical and mental assault, including being kept in a massage parlour where she was abused. This sustained and repeated targeting tears away her sense of safety and belonging, leaving lasting trauma. Since she was targeted for her religious identity, it makes this case, an instance of a religiously motivated hate crime. Furthermore, the victim was subjected to molestation, further compounding the indignity and trauma inflicted upon her. Sexual abuse against a minor is abhorrent in any context, but in this case, it was weaponised as a means to break her spirit, undermine her autonomy. This targeted sexual violence against the Hindu minor victim makes this case an example of religiously motivated crime. Another important point to highlight is that the Muslim perpetrator targeted multiple Hindu girls. This pattern of selectively targeting Hindu girls reveals a broader campaign aimed at religious conversion and exploitation. Such repeated, targeted acts against Hindu girls go beyond individual criminality and constitute a direct threat to the Hindu community, fuelling cycles of fear, distrust, and trauma. This pattern of violence, coercion, and religious targeting constitutes a hate crime because these acts were not committed in isolation; rather, they were directed at a Hindu girl specifically to exploit, convert, and destroy her connection to her community and her faith. Such crimes are a result of deep-rooted religious hostility towards the Hindu girl and her religious identity, making it an instance of religiously motivated crime. Therefore, this case is being added to the hate crime database. Disclaimer: It is important to clarify that the report does not specify the exact date when the victim's ordeal began. Therefore, for documentation purposes, we have recorded the date based on when the incident was reported in the media.