Minor Hindu girl narrowly escapes grooming attempt, deceived on social media by man posing as Hindu

Case ID : aa4af4b | Location : Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India | Date of Incident : Sat, 19 April, 2025

Case ID : aa4af4b

Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India

19 April, 2025

Minor Hindu girl narrowly escapes grooming attempt, deceived on social media by man posing as Hindu

Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes

Man pretends to be Hindu

Name Changed

Brainwashed and/or groomed

Case Summary

Police in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, arrested a Muslim man from Indore. He had deceived a minor Hindu girl by pretending to be a Hindu named Ashok on Snapchat. The incident occurred in the Khanda Falsa police station area. Early in the morning, locals spotted the man meeting the girl and, sensing something suspicious, intervened. When questioned, the man identified himself as Ashok, but the locals demanded proof. Upon showing his Aadhaar card, his true identity and religious background were revealed. It was found that he had contacted the girl on social media using a fake Hindu identity and had travelled from Indore to Jodhpur to meet her. Locals then took him to the Khanda Falsa police station and handed him over to the authorities. A case was registered against him under the POCSO Act and other applicable sections.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category- Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. The sub-category relevant in this case is- Man pretends to be Hindu, and 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 sub-category selected is- Brainwashed and/or Groomed. 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. This incident constitutes a hate crime due to its targeted nature and underlying religious motivation. The Muslim man had, in this case, concealed his religious identity, presenting himself under a Hindu name to gain the minor's trust. The deliberate act of impersonating a Hindu to build trust with a Hindu minor is not merely a case of individual deception; it reflects a pattern of predatory grooming rooted in religious identity. When a non-Hindu man intentionally disguises his religious background to engage with a Hindu girl, particularly a minor, the act is not only exploitative but specifically directed at compromising her sense of religious security. What adds another religious dimension to the incident is that the girl, notably a minor, stated she was unaware of his true religious background, which raises serious concerns about manipulation and psychological grooming. Such acts of deception not only violate the trust and autonomy of the victim but also reflect a targeted strategy to exploit vulnerable Hindu women under false pretences. This pattern, where religious identity is deliberately concealed to initiate or sustain a relationship, is emblematic of a deeper bias and hostility toward the Hindu community and its values. It represents not just a personal betrayal but a calculated act rooted in religious deceit, making it a glaring instance of anti-Hindu hate crime. It is important to mention here that the details of this case reveal that the Hindu victim was a minor girl, indicating a lack of consent and a genuine change of conscience. It is a well-established fact that children are more susceptible to manipulation since they are still developing emotionally, cognitively, and socially. Their brains are not fully mature, making them more vulnerable to influence and less capable of critically evaluating information. Moreover, subtle manipulation tactics can be difficult to detect, especially when employed by trusted authority figures in positions of influence. This makes it challenging for parents to identify and address instances of religious manipulation. Consequently, cases involving religious manipulation of minors not only represent an infringement on an individual's religious freedom but also demonstrate a calculated strategy of targeting those who are less able to resist or understand the long-term implications of conversion, making it a significant case of religious-motivated hate crime.