Hindu woman lured into relationship, raped, pressured to convert to Islam and do nikah by Muslim man masquerading as Hindu
Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India 
30 October, 2022
Case Summary
In Muzaffarnagar, a Hindu widow was deceived into a romantic relationship by a Muslim man who falsely presented himself as Hindu. The woman suffered sexual violence and blackmail at the hands of the accused and was pressured to convert to Islam and marry him. The accused’s Muslim wife also supported him in committing the crime. According to media reports, this incident came to light when the Hindu victim, a mother of two—a 15-year-old son and a 12-year-old daughter—uploaded a viral video on social media on 31st October 2025, appealing to the police and administration for justice. She stated that around three years earlier, in 2022, she had met a man named Sameer Sharma on Instagram. After chatting online, they became friends, and their friendship gradually developed into love. When the relationship reached the stage of marriage, the woman discovered the man’s true identity; he was not Sameer Sharma but a Muslim named Haji Naushad. He was already married and a father of two children. When she protested, she was assaulted and threatened with the murder of her children. The accused coerced her into meeting him, during which he spiked her cold drink and raped her. He also took obscene photographs and videos of her and continuously blackmailed her into maintaining a sexual relationship. He exploited her in this manner for three years. The victim also stated that the accused and his wife were pressuring her to convert to Islam and marry him in a Nikah ceremony, an Islamic marriage ceremony. In the viral video, the tearful woman said, “I am a daughter of the Brahmin community, a single mother. He befriended me, pretending to be a Pandit, lured me with the promise of marriage, and then blackmailed and exploited me. Now he is also creating problems in my sister’s marriage. I am alone, I am afraid, but I want justice for my children.” The woman said that the accused had been harassing her by visiting her workplace and pressuring her to marry him and engage in sexual relations. She further stated that she had filed multiple complaints at the Khatauli Police Station and the Muzaffarnagar Kotwali Police Station. However, when no action was taken, she decided to release the video publicly. After the video went viral, Swami Yashveer Maharaj of the Yog Sadhana Ashram in Muzaffarnagar released a video on social media, warning the police. He said, “She is a daughter of our society. If strict action is not taken against the accused within seven days, we, along with the Hindu community, will protest outside the accused’s house. We will not tolerate such acts.” The Swami questioned why the police had not acted earlier despite multiple complaints and stressed that this was not just about one woman, but about the honour of the entire Hindu society. Following the public outrage, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sanjay Kumar Verma took action. He stated that a case had been registered based on the victim’s complaint. The accused, Haji Naushad, had been taken into custody and was being interrogated. Based on his and the victim’s statements, a case had been filed under serious sections, including rape, blackmail, fraud, and the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act. The police had seized the accused’s phone and other devices and had initiated an investigation
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the first primary category- Crime against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. The subcategory selected under this is- Man pretends to be Hindu. The tertiary category selected is- Name Changed. 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. The other subcategory selected is- Brainwashed and/or Groomed. The tertiary category selected is- Rape and sexual assault/ harassment. In our database, we have not added incidents where women have converted to another religion of their free will and no allegations of forced/involuntary conversion have been made. However, there are certain cases of conversion where the consent itself is a result of the brainwashing or grooming of a minor by the non-Hindu perpetrator trying to victimise a woman for her Hindu religious identity. The phenomenon of grooming points to non-Hindu perpetrators identifying their Hindu victims’ vulnerabilities and exploiting them over months and sometimes years, to extract the supposed ‘consent’ in order to convert their religion. In most cases of grooming, the victims are minors or the grooming started when the victim was a minor. In other cases of grooming, the non-Hindu perpetrator brainwashes and grooms a minor victim to extract their trust and then proceeds to rape them repeatedly with the intent of converting them to their faith. It is pertinent to understand here that when the victim is a minor, the ‘consent’ to convert or enter into a romantic relationship with an adult itself is redundant – addressed by POCSO. While every case of conversion of a minor and incidents of establishing a physical relationship with a minor by an adult is a crime, for the purpose of this database, a case would be considered a hate crime only if there is a distinct religious angle to the grooming. For example, in the UK, if a Hindu minor is targeted by Pakistani grooming gangs, it would be considered a hate crime because the victims are specifically targeted owing to their non-Muslim religious identity with the perpetrators being Muslim. In other cases, if a Hindu minor is brainwashed into entering a physical relationship with the non-Hindu adult perpetrator and the family alleges grooming/brainwashing of the minor to convert her religion, it would form a part of this database. If the victim is a Hindu adult, the case would form a part of this database only if the victim herself says that she was brainwashed/groomed to convert her religion. However, if the victim is deceased (murdered or otherwise), the case would form a part of this database if her family/friends provided testimony that the victim was brainwashed/groomed to convert her religion. Since these crimes have a distinct religious angle where the victim is being targeted owing to her Hindu religious identity, these cases are considered a hate crime. The other subcategory selected is- Forced conversion before marriage. The tertiary category selected is- Forced to do Nikah. In such cases, a non-Hindu man is in a relationship with a Hindu woman when the pressure to convert her religion begins to manifest. In such cases, typically, two patterns emerge. First, when the relationship is consensual, and the religious identity of the perpetrator is known to the Hindu woman in the relationship, however, at some point during the relationship, the non-Hindu man starts to force the victim to convert her religion and give up her Hindu religious identity. The second is when the woman gets into a marriage with the man pretending to share her faith. Later, when the truth is revealed, the man starts pressuring the woman to convert her religion and give up her religious identity. In both the situations, the methods used to force the victim to convert her religion often revolve around force-feeding beef, forcing her to wear hijab, forcing her to read the Kalma or even pressurizing the victim to do ‘Nikah’, which is marriage under Islamic law, with a prerequisite being conversion to Islam. Cases where a Hindu woman consensually converts to Islam in a relationship will be left out of the hate crime database, even though it could be argued in several cases that the conversion was a result of religious brainwashing. The other subcategory selected is- Assault or threat upon refusal 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. The other subcategory selected is- Blackmailed to convert. When Hindu women are in a relationship with non-Hindu men, there are cases where the woman is blackmailed to convert her religion, owing to her religious identity of being a Hindu. Such relationships may be consensual with the religious identity of the non-Hindu man known to the victim, however, there could be cases where the relationship is not consensual and the non-Hindu man starts blackmailing a Hindu woman to convert her religion. In these cases, it is often seen that the Hindu woman is blackmailed with intimate photos and/or videos, threats of harm to her or her family, threats of violence etc. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. Another primary category selected in this case is- Predatory Proselytisation. The 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. This case stands as a clear instance of an anti-Hindu hate crime. The Hindu widow was deliberately lured into a romantic relationship by a Muslim man who deceitfully posed as a Hindu. The accused used this deception to trap the victim by exploiting her faith and trust, knowing that she would not have accepted his proposal had she known his true religious identity. This calculated act of impersonation was not merely personal betrayal; it reflected a deep-rooted bias and animosity towards the Hindu faith. The deception was religiously motivated, designed to manipulate and exploit the victim precisely because of her Hindu identity. Following this, the accused sexually violated the woman, driven by religious animosity. In such cases, the act of manipulating a Hindu woman, deceiving her into a relationship, and then committing sexual violence demonstrates not only exploitation but also targeted hate. Here, sexual assault was not for mere gratification; it was used as a weapon to break her spirit, force submission, and strip her of her Hindu identity. The brutality inflicted upon her was intended to humiliate both her and the wider Hindu community, making this a deeply religiously motivated crime. The victim was then further pressured into conversion and marriage through a Nikah by the Muslim perpetrator and his wife. The participation of his wife in pressuring the victim to convert and marry shows that this was not an isolated act but a coordinated effort to erase the woman’s Hindu faith. The victim was deceived, manipulated, raped, and forced towards religious conversion—actions clearly reflecting the intent to spiritually and socially annihilate her Hindu identity. Such coercion and forced conversion constitute a direct violation of an individual’s right to religious freedom and autonomy, marking this as a grave religiously motivated offence. The accused went on to threaten the victim, warning her that he would kill her children and harm her if she resisted. These threats were used to coerce her into meeting him under duress, during which she was raped and her obscene photographs were taken. These acts were clearly meant to dehumanise her as a Hindu woman and force her submission through fear and humiliation. The religious targeting and accompanying sexual violence reveal not only moral depravity but a calculated attempt to degrade her because of her faith. The victim was also continuously blackmailed by the accused. Blackmail served as a weapon of control, compelling her to comply with his demands for sexual exploitation, forced marriage, and conversion to Islam. Using blackmail to subjugate a Hindu woman in this manner underscores the deep-seated hatred and contempt the perpetrator held towards her religious identity. Beyond this, the accused relentlessly harassed the victim at her workplace, pressuring her to convert to Islam, marry him, and maintain sexual relations. He further threatened to disrupt her sister’s marriage, extending the persecution to her family. This constant harassment with the intention of stripping her of her Hindu faith and enforcing her submission through fear and exploitation constitutes the complete dehumanisation of a Hindu woman because of her religion. It stands as a glaring example of a religiously motivated hate crime. Given the undeniable religious motivation and the clear targeting of the victim for her Hindu identity, this case meets all parameters of a hate crime. It has therefore been added to the hate crime database Hinduphobia Tracker. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker documents incidents based on the date when the victim's ordeal begins rather than when it is reported by the media. In this particular case, media sources did not specify the exact date when the victim’s ordeal began. They only mentioned that on 31st October 2025, the victim released a video narrating her experience and that she had been lured by the accused three years earlier, in 2022. Based on this information, 31st October 2022 has been selected as the indicative date of the incident for documentation purposes only, intended to approximate the beginning of the victim’s ordeal. In this case, although the main Muslim accused was Haji Naushad, his wife also supported him in pressuring the Hindu victim to convert to Islam and marry him. Based on this, the perpetrator count has been recorded as '2', referring to both the Muslim accused and his wife.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 1
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 1
- Unknown 0
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Case sub-judice
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
