Hindu woman lured, sexually exploited and blackmailed for religious conversion to Islam; Muslim accused ran organised racket targeting Hindu girls
Deoria, Uttar Pradesh, India 
4 April, 2024
Case Summary
In Deoria, Uttar Pradesh, a Hindu woman was lured with inducements, blackmailed, and sexually exploited for religious conversion by a Muslim man named Usman Ansari Ghani, who specifically targeted multiple Hindu girls. According to reports, the victim came to Deoria for work about 1.5 years ago and started working at SS Mall. The accused was the owner of the mall where the victim worked and had been targeting his female Hindu employees. The victim stated that the accused, along with his wife Tarannum and brother-in-law Gauhar Ansari, lured Hindu girls in the name of employment and promises of good money and opportunities. Then they subjected Hindu girls to sexual abuse inside two rooms that were on the upper floor of the mall. They also used to record videos of the sexual abuse, which were then used to blackmail the victims for forced conversions and compliance. Hindu girls working at the malls were also sent to businessmen visiting Deoria from outside. One victim, after enduring continuous sexual exploitation and forced conversion, left her job, went to the police and filed a complaint. Police began an investigation into the incident. It was also revealed that Gauhar Ansari had recently eloped with a Hindu girl, for which he was arrested and sent to jail.
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- Predatory Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. Within this, the tertiary category selected is- Rape and sexual assault/ harassment and 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 subcategory 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 other subcategory 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. This case has been added to the tracker because a Hindu woman was lured with inducements, blackmailed and sexually exploited for religious conversion by the Muslim accused. The accused ran an organised conversion racket specifically targeting Hindu girls. Hindu girls were lured with employment opportunities and a lavish lifestyle and pushed towards conversion and sexual exploitation. In such cases, sexual violence serves a dual purpose: physical subjugation and religious humiliation. The intention is to break the victim down emotionally, physically, and spiritually, so that she can be converted. This is not random violence; it is systematic, targeted, and rooted in religious animosity. Adding to this, the Muslim accused also recorded obscene videos of the sexual abuse of the Hindu girls in order to blackmail them for conversion and shame them into silence. This functioned as a religiously motivated tool aimed at targeting, humiliating, and dominating Hindu girls because of their faith. The specific focus on the Hindu identity of the victims in the commission of these acts highlights the religious hatred underlying the crime, making it a religiously motivated offence. Offering incentives or promising a lavish lifestyle, especially when directed at vulnerable individuals in need, shows that these incentives were not acts of kindness or charity. Instead, they were calculated moves to exploit vulnerable Hindus because of their religion. By providing inducements in order to push people towards conversion and sexual exploitation, the accused were effectively blackmailing those who might have been desperate for assistance or hope. This form of coercion stripped people of their agency and dignity and resulted in coerced conversions. These were not random or isolated incidents, but rather cases deeply rooted in religious animosity towards Hindu victims. Pressuring someone to abandon their faith and adopt another religion against their will is a blatant violation of religious freedom. Forced conversion through coercion, blackmail, or sexual violence is a direct assault on a person’s rights and autonomy. It is a deliberate attempt to erase the Hindu victim’s cultural and religious identity. Such actions stemmed 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 until they convert. Since such predatory actions stemmed 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 none of the media sources covering this case have specified the exact date when the victim's ordeal began, though it is mentioned that she started working at the mall about 1.5 years ago. Thus, to document this case, we have used an indicative date—March 5, 2024—as a placeholder to represent the beginning of her suffering. While media coverage of the incident emerged on September 5, 2025, the Hinduphobia Tracker records the incident based on when the victim’s ordeal began, not when it was reported. Disclaimer: Though multiple Hindu girls were targeted by the accused, only one victim has since come forward and filed a complaint. Therefore, the number of victims has conservatively been recorded as 1.
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 0
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 1
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
