Minor Hindu girl groomed, raped, and converted by Muslim man posing as Hindu
Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, India 
23 July, 2025
Case Summary
In Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, a 12-year-old minor Hindu girl student was groomed, raped and converted to Islam by a Muslim man named Sajjad Hussain, also known as Aashiq. The accused had posed as a Hindu man to gain the trust of the victim. According to reports, Sajjad was a school van driver who befriended the minor Hindu girl, a Class 6 school student, while transporting her to and from school. He introduced himself as a Hindu man named Chunnu. Over the course of approximately one year, the accused groomed her and developed a relationship with the minor girl on the false pretext of marriage. He also gave her a mobile phone and money to the girl. Furthermore, he raped the minor Hindu girl for over a year and converted her to Islam. He also changed her name to a Muslim name and obtained an Aadhaar card identifying her as "Soni Khatoon, wife of Sajjad Hussain." The family became aware of the situation when they observed changes in the girl's behaviour and her insistence on marrying the accused. When they checked her mobile phone, the full extent of the deception was revealed. The girl's family immediately approached the police and filed a complaint. Police promptly registered a case against Sajjad Hussain under sections of the POCSO Act, laws related to forced religious conversion, and sexual exploitation. The accused was arrested and sent to jail.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the: - Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. Within it, the sub-category selected is: - Man pretends to be Hindu, with the tertiary category being: - Name changed. When a non-Hindu man pretends to be a Hindu to deceive a Hindu woman into a relationship, the act is seen as triggered by malafide intentions. In some cases, the woman eventually accepts the man’s original religious identity and converts after the man’s identity is revealed. These cases could be argued as cases of religious brainwashing and a result of the pressure a woman feels after getting into a relationship with a man. The woman, it can be argued, also changed her religious identity because of the stigma she believes she might face if she chooses to walk out of a deceptive relationship. However, for the purpose of documenting hate crimes, the cases in this subcategory are limited to those where there is explicit violence aimed at religious conversion against the wishes of the victim (force-feeding beef, blackmailing with intimate videos, rape on refusal to convert, etc), or if the woman herself complains of the man’s religious deception. In such cases, it is established that the deception of the non-Hindu man had a specific aim of religious conversion or targeting of the victim due to her Hindu religious identity, therefore, making it a religiously motivated hate crime. The other primary category selected is: - Predatory Proselytisation. Within it, the sub-category selected is: - Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination, with the tertiary categories 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 Hindu girl student was groomed, raped and converted to Islam by a Muslim man who pretended to be Hindu. The perpetrator deliberately concealed his religious identity to initiate and sustain a relationship with a minor Hindu girl. Trying to have a relationship with the minor while pretending to be Hindu also underscores the malicious intent of the accused. This deception itself is a clear manifestation of bias and malicious intent towards the victim's religion. By concealing his true identity, he exploited her trust, targeting her under false pretences. This indicates a premeditated intent to manipulate her based on her religious background. In cases like these, the tactic of adopting a false Hindu identity to manipulate and "ensnare" a Hindu individual is not just an act of personal betrayal, but can also be interpreted as an expression of disdain or disregard for Hinduism and its customs that reflects a deeper animosity towards Hindus and their beliefs. The accused lured the minor Hindu girl by giving her a phone and money. He also promised her marriage and raped her on the pretext of that. All these were attempts to lower the victim's guard for the eventual goal of religious conversion. He converted her to Islam and changed her name as well in an attempt to alienate her from her Hindu identity and cultural roots. This changing of name is symbolic and is often seen in cases of predatory proselytisation, where changing of name results in easier assimilation of the victim into the new faith. It is important to note here that the victim was a minor and thus incapable of providing informed consent to such conversion activities. It is a well-established fact that children are more susceptible to manipulation since they are still developing emotionally, cognitively, and socially. Their brains are not fully mature, making them more vulnerable. 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. Such acts are not merely criminal in nature; they are ideologically charged, revealing religious prejudice and a calculated intent to alter the religious identity of a minor without her volition. The use of grooming, where trust is built only to exploit, is an insidious method that exploits the child’s naivety and dependence. Such actions stem from inherent hostility towards the victim's professed faith since Abrahamic faiths believe that any non-adherent to the faith is subject to being dehumanised till they convert. Therefore, religious conversions, even of minors, are often seen as a badge of honour, totally disregarding the methods used to achieve it. Since such predatory actions stem from doctrinal animosity towards the Hindu faith and its adherents, this case is being documented as a religiously motivated hate crime. Disclaimer: It is important to clarify that the report does not specify the exact date when the death threats were issued. Therefore, for documentation purposes, we have recorded the date based on when the incident was reported in the media.
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 
