Minor Hindu schoolgirl forced to wear burqa by Muslim classmate; brainwashed and abducted by Muslim family
Ramnagar, Uttarakhand, India 
18 September, 2025
Case Summary
In Ramnagar, Uttarakhand, a minor Hindu schoolgirl was entrapped and abducted by her Muslim classmate, who forced her to wear a burqa. According to reports, a video went viral showing the Muslim girl removing two burqas from her bag, handing one to her Hindu friend, and wearing the other herself. The footage, captured on CCTV installed outside a house in the locality, caused widespread outrage. On September 19, 2025, when the Hindu student failed to return home from school, her family began searching for her. It was later discovered that she had been taken to the house of her Muslim classmate. The police intervened and rescued the minor girl. They also had her medically examined at a government hospital and recorded her statement. Based on the complaint filed by the girl’s family, a case of kidnapping was registered against unknown persons, and the involvement of a Muslim youth also surfaced during the investigation. Hindu organisations and BJP workers gathered at the police station, demanding strict action and pointing out that the case was linked to love jihad and religious conversion. They stated that the minor Hindu girl had been in contact with a Muslim family and had been manipulated under their influence.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The primary category selected in this case is- 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 has been added to the tracker because a minor Hindu girl was made to wear a burqa by her Muslim friend. By making her wear a burqa, the Muslim perpetrator attempted to strip her of her Hindu faith and impose foreign religious practices upon her. It was not merely about clothing; it symbolised the effort to overwrite her Hindu identity and forcibly assimilate her into practices of the Islamic faith. Additionally, the victim was also found at the house of the Muslim family, which further indicates the religious nature of the whole act. By brainwashing her into coming to the house of the Muslim family, the perpetrators attempted to alienate her from her social circle and her cultural identity. The intention was to isolate her and convert her to Islam. This again glaringly demonstrated the religiously motivated nature of the crime. It is further 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 exemplified the use of coercion and manipulation to achieve religious conversion, it was a blatant act of religious hate, which is why it has been documented here in the hate tracker. 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. 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 until 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 none of the media sources covering this case have specified the exact date when the victim's ordeal began. The earliest date mentioned is September 19, 2025, the day the victim went missing. Since the Hinduphobia Tracker records the incident based on when the victim’s ordeal began, rather than when it was reported, we have considered the date of the incident to be September 19, 2025. However, the media reported the incident on September 20, 2025. Disclaimer: In this case, the Hindu girl’s Muslim classmate was directly involved in the abduction, and the investigation also revealed the role of a Muslim youth. The victim was taken to the classmate’s family home, suggesting complicity of family members, but since the exact number of those involved within the household is not known, the Hinduphobia Tracker has conservatively recorded the perpetrator count as 2. This figure may be revised if further details on the family’s involvement become available.
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
Complaint registered
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
