Case Summary

In Lohardaga, Jharkhand, a Hindu man named Manish Kumar, who had a consensual relationship with a Muslim woman, was abducted and brutally attacked by a group of Muslim youths during the registration of their marriage. According to reports, Manish Kumar (24), a resident of Bargai, had been in a relationship with a Muslim woman named Rubena Khatoon (24) since their college days. The couple formally married at the Arya Samaj Mandir in Ranchi on 26 April 2025. On 19 September 2025, the couple arrived at the court premises to register their marriage, accompanied by two friends, Chandrajit Bodra and Mohan Bodra. A group of more than 20 Muslim youths intercepted the interfaith couple, abducting them and subjecting them to a brutal assault. Manish Kumar was dragged to the roadside and beaten severely, while the attackers took his mobile phone and money. Rubena Khatoon also suffered serious injuries and fell unconscious during the attack. According to the victim, he was abused and brutally beaten by a Muslim mob of about 100 people. Witnesses were present at the scene, but nobody came to help them. All four victims were admitted to a hospital for treatment of their injuries, with Manish Kumar referred to RIMS due to the critical nature of his condition. The police registered a case and launched an investigation into the incident. They were working to identify and apprehend the culprits. Police assured that strict action would be taken against those attempting to disrupt law and order.

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Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Men attacked for being associated with non-Hindu women. Within this, the sub-category selected is- Attacked/killed for being associated or suspicion of being associated with Muslim woman. There have been several cases documented of Hindu men/boys being attacked specifically by Muslim groups/mobs for merely being associated or suspicion of being associated or being seen with a Muslim woman in public. In most of such cases, the Hindu man is not in a relationship with the Muslim woman, however, the mob proceeds to threaten and/or assault the Hindu man for merely being associated with the Muslim woman in any capacity. The rise of such crimes stems from a particularly sinister campaign run by several Muslim ideologues and activists. The campaign claims that Hindu men are attempting to ‘lure’ Muslim women into relationships to ensure that Muslim women leave their faith and follow Hinduism. The propaganda has been spearheaded with the help of WhatsApp groups and the extensive use of social media, sans evidence of the same. In many cases, pamphlets were fabricated to lend credence to this campaign. The root of this campaign lies in the fact that several cases of sectarian crimes against Hindu women in relationships with Muslim men have been documented. In such cases, Hindu women have often been forced/pressured to convert to Islam, assaulted, threatened and even murdered owing specifically to their religious identity and their refusal to give up that religious identity to adopt Islam. To delegitimize the suffering of Hindu women when such sectarian crimes are committed against them, the theory of ‘Bhagwa Love Trap’ was floated by sections of the Muslim community. As this theory gained traction, Muslim mobs started targeting Hindu men who were seen with Muslim women. In several such cases, the Hindu man was assaulted merely for offering to drop a Muslim woman in his vehicle or being friends. The differentiating factor between such cases and legitimate cases of Hindu women being targeted while in a relationship with Muslim men is that there is no sectarian violence, and force/pressure to convert. The nature of sectarian violence against Hindu women is not about two adults in a consensual relationship, working together, studying together, or even marrying each other where religious considerations are declared. In this category of crimes, it is pertinent to remember that in none of the cases, there is an element of the Hindu man masking his identity or forced religious conversion. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. The second primary category selected here is - Attack not resulting in death. Within it, the sub-category selected is - Attacked for Hindu identity. In several cases, Hindus are attacked merely for their Hindu identity without any perceived provocation. A classic example of this category of religiously motivated hate crime is a murder in 2016. 7 ISIS terrorists were convicted for shooting a school principal in Kanpur because they got ‘triggered’ seeing the Kalava on his wrist and tilak that he had put. In this, the Hindu victim had offered no provocation except for his Hindu religious identity. The motivation for the murder was purely religious, driven by religious supremacy. Such cases where Hindus are targeted merely for their religious identity would be documented as a hate crime under this category. This case is a clear instance of a religiously motivated hate crime, where a Hindu man was publicly humiliated, abducted, and physically assaulted for being in a relationship with a Muslim woman. The attack was not provoked by any misconduct or inappropriate behaviour on the part of the victims, but was driven solely by the religious identities of the individuals involved. Both Manish Kumar and Rubena Khatoon were adults who were free to make their own life choices and were in a relationship out of their own free will. Their formal marriage and intent to register it at the court were entirely consensual acts, reflecting personal decisions made without coercion. The Muslim mob specifically targeted the couple because of their interfaith relationship, focusing on the Hindu man’s religious identity. The attack was deliberate, unprovoked, and intended to publicly enforce a discriminatory belief system that denies Hindu men the right to freely associate with Muslim women. It sought to send a broader message that Hindu men would face violence and public humiliation if they engaged in relationships with Muslim women, regardless of circumstances. The justification for such actions stems from the conspiracy theory of the ‘Bhagwa Love Trap’, which is widely regarded as anti-Hindu. This false narrative portrays Hindu men as predators targeting Muslim women for their religious identity, despite having no basis in reality. It is weaponised to legitimise violence against Hindus who engage in relationships with Muslim women. In this case, more than 20 Muslim youths forcibly abducted and brutally assaulted the couple and their friends, clearly disregarding the victims’ autonomy and life choices. The assault demonstrates a targeted effort to intimidate and punish individuals solely based on their religious affiliation. This act underscores a discriminatory mindset that targets individuals solely based on their religious affiliation, irrespective of circumstances. Such incidents highlight the systematic and deliberate nature of religious intolerance, deeply rooted in hostility towards Hindus and their faith. Considering these factors, the case has been categorised as a religiously motivated hate crime, driven by the perpetrators’ hostility towards the Hindu community and its members’ right to freely associate with people of other faiths. The Hinduphobia Tracker is accounting for incidents against Hindus by non-Hindu perpetrators, and for this reason, we are just keeping the victim count as 3, referring to the Hindu man and his two friends.