Minor Hindu boy forcibly converted to Islam by Muslim men in Nuh, Haryana
Nuh, Haryana, India 
24 August, 2025
Case Summary
In Nuh, Haryana, an 8-year-old Hindu boy was lured and converted to Islam by his family members and four Muslim men, namely, Shahid, Alli Balai, Saddiq, and Sirajuddin. According to media reports, a Hindu family of five—Chetram (45) of Marora village, his wife Rekha (39), elder son Shivam (21), daughter Sonam (19), and younger son Arun (8)—had converted to Islam. The family left their house on the evening of 25th August 2025 and were kept hidden at the house of a Muslim accused, Saddiq, a resident of Aterna in Barkali, from that night onwards. Chetram's brother, Satbir, son of Santra, lodged a complaint with the police stating that his entire family had been missing since 25th August 2025. In his complaint, he said that they had been unlawfully converted to Islam through various financial inducements. He also named Sirajuddin, a resident of Rajaka, along with others, as being involved in the religious conversion. Satbir further stated that his sister-in-law, Rekha, his nephew Arun, and his niece Sonam had been taken away and subjected to forced conversion. Following Satbir’s complaint, the police summoned all five family members to Nagina police station for questioning, which continued late into the night. Satbir said that after his family’s disappearance, he had received several affidavits on social media in which it was written that they had embraced Islam of their own free will. According to sources, Chetram and his family members told the police that they had converted of their own accord and would not be influenced by anyone else.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Predatory Proselytisation. Within this, the subcategory selected is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. The tertiary category selected is- 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. This case is a clear instance of a hate crime because it involves the forceful religious conversion of a minor Hindu child, Arun, aged eight. Since the victim is a minor, the element of consent and genuine change of conscience is 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 perpetrators and his family purposely targeted and exploited this vulnerability of the victim. Since this case exemplifies the use of coercion to achieve religious conversion, it is a blatant act of religious hate aimed at stripping the religious identity of the minor Hindu boy. It is important to note that Satbir, Chetram's brother, stated that the family was lured with inducements to convert to Islam by the Muslim perpetrators. This claim cannot be dismissed completely, as in many similar instances in the past, there have been incidents where Hindus were forcibly converted to Islam through inducements such as financial incentives and other temptations. However, in the present case, the adult family members explicitly denied any coercion or inducement and affirmed their conversion was of their own volition. They stated before police and through affidavits that they converted voluntarily; however, this does not apply to Arun, given his age and inability to consent. The forced conversion of Arun distinctly qualifies this case as a hate crime, despite the adults’ declaration of free will. Therefore, these claims of inducement regarding the adults are not taken at face value nor treated blindly. However, this does not mitigate the fact that Arun’s conversion was forced and without consent. Such instances of forced conversions of minor Hindu children demonstrate religious animosity and hatred towards Hindus and Hinduism, making it a religiously motivated crime. Given that this case meets the parameters of a religiously motivated crime, it is being added to the hate crime database. Disclaimer: Reports confirm that, according to Satbir, the complainant, the entire family was lured with inducements to convert to Islam. However, since the adult family members themselves deny coercion and document their voluntary conversion, the adults are not considered victims. The only victim recognised is the minor boy Arun, whose forced conversion cannot be justified. Therefore, for documentation purposes, the victim count is being recorded- '1', referring solely to the minor boy Arun. Additionally, since the Hinduphobia tracker documents hate crimes committed by non-Hindus against Hindus, the perpetrator count is maintained as '4', corresponding to the accused Muslim men.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 1
- Female 0
- 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
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
