Shadab becomes Raja, convinces Hindu woman to elope and marry him; forces her to circumcise their son, eat beef and perform Namaz
Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh, India 
22 October, 2024
Case Summary
In Fatehpur district of Uttar Pradesh, a Muslim man, Mohammad Shadab, trapped a Hindu woman by assuming a false Hindu identity as "Raja Pal." The victim, originally from Badaun, met Shadab five years ago while working at a factory in Delhi. According to her statement, Shadab introduced himself as a Hindu, gained her trust, and convinced her to elope with him to Fatehpur, where they started living together in a rented house. During their time together, the couple had two children. Shadab’s true identity as a Muslim was revealed when he began pressuring her to circumcise their elder son, who had turned four. When she resisted, Shadab forced her to eat beef and demanded she participate in Islamic prayers. The woman recounted enduring physical abuse whenever she refused his demands, including beatings and verbal threats. After Shadab was injured in a road accident, the woman found an opportunity to escape the abusive situation. Seeking assistance from leaders of Hindu organisations in the area, she was guided to file a formal complaint at the Kotwali police station against Shadab.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
There are multiple components of a religiously motivated hate crime in this case. The primary category that this case is being added to is 'hate crimes against women in relationship and sexual crimes'. There are 3 secondary categories that the case is being added to further. The first sub-category is 'Man pretends to be Hindu' by 'changing is name' as the tertiary category. 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. In this case, the tertiary category 'married as per Hindu rituals' is also included. It is evident from the statement of the victim that the Muslim man pretended to be a Hindu and married her. She only got to know her real identity after marriage, when he started forcing her to convert to Islam. It is therefore reasonable to assume that the marriage was conducted as per Hindu rituals for the woman to not suspect the man's real religiously identity. The second sub-category is 'forced to convert after marriage'. The tertiary categories selected under this sub-category are forced to eat beef, forced to do Namaz and forced circumcision. In such cases, a non-Hindu man marries a Hindu woman and the force/pressure to convert to Islam begins after marriage. In such cases, the marriage is consensual in most cases and often, there is no element of the man hiding his religious identity. The marriage could be under the Special Marriages Act where neither parties are required to convert their religion for the marriage to be considered legitimate. While the victim in such cases enters matrimony assuming that religious identity is not a barrier, the non-Hindu man starts to pressure the woman to convert to Islam after marriage. In such cases, there is application of force by the perpetrator, including, denial of the woman’s religious rights. Some of the means by which the woman is forced/pressured to convert include force-feeding beef, forced to read the Kalma, forced to wear a hijab, forced for Halala, etc. There are several instances where after marriage, the woman voluntarily converts to Islam. Such cases are often argued to be a result of religious brainwashing, however, for the purpose of documenting religiously motivated hate crimes, in the absence of the victim complaining of forced conversion, such cases do not form a part of the database. In this case, the woman testifies that she was force-fed beef and forced to read namaz. Beef has specific religious significance in Hinduism and has been historically used to convert, torture and humiliate Hindus. Force feeding beef is a classic method to forcefully convert Hindus. The woman also reveals that the Muslim perpetrator forcefully circumcised the woman's minor son. The third sub-category the case is being added to is 'assault upon threat to convert'. When Hindu women are in a relationship with non-Hindu men, there are cases where the woman faces threats or assault after she refuses to convert and change her religious identity owing to pressure/force by the non-Hindu man. Such relationships may be consensual with the religious identity of the non-Hindu man known to the victim. Somewhere along the relationship, the non-Hindu man starts pressurizing the Hindu woman to convert to Islam and upon her refusal, assaults or threatens the victim. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. Cases where the Hindu woman converts to Islam and does not file a complaint about the force or threat, are not considered a part of the hate tracker, even though, it may be argued that the woman was brainwashed or threatened to convert to Islam. Since the religious animosity harboured by the perpetrator is evident from the various components of the case, this case is being added to the hate crime database.
Victim Details
Total Victim
2
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 1
- Female 1
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 2
Age Group
- Minor 1
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
