Case Summary

In Pune, Maharashtra, a 17-year-old Hindu girl was lured and abducted by a Muslim youth named Mateen Sheikh. According to the complaint filed by the victim's father, Raju Gaya Sharma, the minor victim was studying in the 12th standard at Wadia College, Koregaon Park, Pune. On the morning of 12 November 2025, she left her home early in the morning, but when she did not return till evening, her parents became concerned. They tried calling her number, but it was switched off. The complaint stated that the accused had been in contact with the minor victim prior to her disappearance, and he lured and forcibly took her away. Local Hindu organisations in Pune intervened to assist the family with documentation, follow-ups on the FIR, and gathering public attention as the case received minimal coverage in mainstream media. As of the date of writing this report, a case had been registered, and a search operation was underway to rescue the victim and apprehend the accused.

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Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker because a minor Hindu girl was lured and abducted by the Muslim youth, Mateen Sheikh. This could potentially be a crime motivated by religious profiling, as it has been observed that in many cases, Muslim perpetrators target Hindu minor girls due to inherent animosity towards Hindus and their faith. Hindu girls are very vulnerable to crimes like rape and sexual assault at the hands of Muslim men. However, it is also possible that the crime was one of opportunity, where the Hindu girl was simply accessible to the Muslim perpetrator. Meanwhile, it could also be argued that for a Muslim perpetrator, a Muslim girl would likely be more accessible than a Hindu girl. The fact that the accused specifically targeted the Hindu girl indicates religious profiling. Moreover, the victim was a minor at the time of the incident, thus making any supposed "consent" given for a relationship or elopement from her side legally invalid under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. POCSO is a strict liability law, which means that the intention of the accused or the willingness of the minor is not taken into account when determining culpability. The underlying reason is that children are not considered mentally or emotionally developed enough to make mature decisions about relationships or elopement, which makes them highly vulnerable to manipulation and exploitation. Nevertheless, this remains highly speculative, as the case details provide no clear indication of religious motivations. Furthermore, her parents had not made any statements suggesting a religious motive behind the crime. For this reason, the case has been added to the 'Undecided' database. If further information emerges that points towards a religious motivation behind this crime, it would then be reclassified and included in the hate crime database. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incidents based on when an event occurred or when the victim's ordeal began. It is important to clarify that none of the media sources covering this case have specified the exact date when the victim came into contact with the accused, as it is mentioned that the accused knew her prior to her disappearance. Therefore, for documentation purposes, the date of the incident has been selected as 12 November 2025 - the day she was abducted.