Hindu woman abducted and forcibly converted to Islam after being misled by Muslim man posing as Hindu
Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India 
20 March, 2025
Case Summary
In Dehradun, a married woman was abducted, sexually assaulted, and forcibly converted after being deceived by a man who introduced himself under a false Hindu identity. According to police investigations, the accused, identified as Shahbaz from Sherkot, Bijnor, currently residing in Patel Nagar’s Muslim Colony, posed as "Monu" to befriend and manipulate the woman into a relationship. The woman, who had recently returned to her parental home from Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, reportedly went missing on 21 March. Her family filed a missing persons complaint, following which police traced her location to Noida. She was recovered from Shahbaz's custody, and notably, was found wearing a burqa. The police seized the burqa as evidence and brought both the victim and the accused back to Dehradun. During interrogation, it was revealed that Shahbaz had been communicating with the woman under the alias "Monu", concealing his real identity. After luring her to Noida, he held her captive in a locked room for several days, during which he repeatedly raped her and coerced her into converting to his religion. The woman’s ordeal came to light after her rescue. Legal proceedings were initiated under charges of abduction, rape, and violations of the Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion Act, 2018. The accused was remanded to judicial custody following his court appearance. Authorities also confirmed that the woman had been married only in February this year.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of- Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. Under this, the first sub-category selected is- Man pretends to be Hindu. The tertiary category selected under this 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 second sub-category selected here is- Brainwashed and/or groomed and within this, the tertiary category selected is- Rape and sexual assault/harassment. In several cases, a Hindu woman and/or minor is sexually harassed and/or assaulted with a religious motive. For example, in a case in Kausambi, UP, a Hindu girl was raped by non-Hindu perpetrators. During the assault, the victim pleaded to 'spare her in the name of Bhagwan'. The perpetrators then asked her to plead in the name of Allah. This clearly indicates a religious motive for the crime and evidences the religious animosity the perpetrators harbored against the victim owing to her religious identity. Such cases would be added to this tertiary category since the religious animosity makes the crime a hate crime. Many aspects mark this case as driven by hate and bigotry. Firstly, the Muslim man masquerades as a Hindu to lure the Hindu woman into a relationship. This deceptive and manipulative behaviour, which involved concealing his true religious identity, is a clear case of religious hate. By posing as someone who shares her faith, he manipulated her trust and violated her ability to make informed decisions about her relationships. This deception is not just a personal betrayal but a targeted attack on her religious identity, as the girl's trust was built on the belief that she was interacting with someone from her own religious community. Further, the religious angle of the crime became more apparent when the Muslim man forced the woman to follow Islamic practices like wearing a burqa. In the broader context of hate crimes, forcing someone to engage in behaviour that is expressly forbidden or offensive in their religion is a clear manifestation of religious intolerance. It demonstrates a blatant disregard for the victim's rights to practice their faith freely. Here, the actions of the perpetrator clearly point towards the deep disdain he harboured for Hindus and their religious beliefs. It is evident that the perpetrator targeted the victim because of her religious identity and that his motivation was driven by religious hate.
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 0
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
