Hindu widow deceived by Muslim man masquerading as Hindu; force-fed beef and raped for resisting conversion
Muradabad, Uttar Pradesh, India 
31 December, 2021
Case Summary
In Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, a Muslim man identified as Ikraar Pasha deceived a Hindu widow by presenting himself as a Hindu named Raj Thakur. He wore a tilak and a kalawa, visited Hindu temples and celebrated all Hindu festivals to gain the victim's trust. Eventually, he married her in a temple as per Hindu customs. However, when women found out his real identity, he assaulted her, force-fed her beef and pressured her to convert to Islam. The woman's ordeal began in 2022 when she met Ikrar Pasha. She had lost her husband. Pasha concealed his Muslim identity and presented himself as Raj Thakur. He wore a tilak on his forehead and a kalawa in his hand to present himself as a Hindu. He visited temples with her and participated in all Hindu festivals like Diwali, Holi, etc., to gain her trust, eventually persuading her to marry him on the pretext of securing a future for her and her two children. Both were married in a temple, and the two began living together in a rented house after their marriage in 2022. Pasha used to worship daily. He even used to go to the temple on important occasions and participated in Hindu festivals. But even after one and a half years of marriage, Pasha never took her to his hometown. He even did not introduced her to his parents. Suspecting this, she visited his hometown and discovered his Muslim identity. She even discovered that Ikraar was married and had children. After that, she was subjected to pressure to convert to Islam. Upon her refusal, she was physically assaulted and forced to consume beef. Pasha's brothers also committed sexual assault against her. She, along with her children, also received death threats from Pasha's family. The woman later escaped and approached the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), seeking justice. The SSP, Satpal Antil, met with her and members of Hindu organisations who had come in her support. The SSP acknowledged that the woman had already filed a case earlier related to dowry harassment and physical abuse, and instructed the Majhola police station to begin a fresh investigation based on her new complaint.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker un the primary category of - Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. The sub-category selected here is - Man pretends to be Hindu, with the tertiary sub-categories being - Name changed, Marries as per Hindu rituals and Wears symbols of Hinduism. 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- Rape for refusal to convert. When Hindu women are in a relationship with non-Hindu men, there are cases where the woman faces pressure/threats/violence to convert and change her religious identity 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 pressuring the Hindu woman to convert. In some of these cases, the association could be non-consensual as well or, the religious identity of the non-Muslim man could be previously unknown to the Hindu victim. As the case may be, in such cases, the non-Hindu man forces himself sexually on the Hindu woman when she refuses his advances and pressures to convert her religion. The rape of the woman is often seen as either a punishment for the woman refusing to convert. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. The other sub-category 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 sub-category selected is- Torture of family to force woman to convert. When Hindu women are in a relationship with non-Hindu men, there are cases where the woman is forced to convert her religion. Several methods are used for such forced conversion. The non-Hindu man is often documented to issue threats and even employ violence. One of the ways used by such perpetrators is threatening and/or torturing the family members of the Hindu woman to pressure her to convert. The perpetrators in such cases issue threats to harm or torture the family of the woman. In some cases, there is also violence directed towards the family to force the Hindu woman to convert. Such crimes aim to blackmail the victim into changing her religion by inducing fear of harm to her family. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. The other sub-category 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. The other sub-category selected here is - Forced conversion after marriage, with the tertiary sub-category being- Forced to eat beef. 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. This case qualifies as a religiously motivated hate crime due to the calculated deception and explicit violence used to target the victim’s Hindu identity. The man, Ikraar Pasha, concealed his Muslim identity by adopting a Hindu name and outward Hindu markers such as a tilak and kalawa. He also married the woman in a temple, and regularly participated in Hindu religious practices. In Hinduism, the tilak and kalawa hold deep religious, cultural, and spiritual significance. It symbolises protection, blessings, unity, and commitment to spiritual and ethical principles. Its use across various rituals and ceremonies underscores its importance in the Hindu way of life. By exploiting religious symbols and rituals sacred to Hindus, the Muslim accused not only betrayed the woman's trust but also showed a profound disrespect for her faith. Once the woman discovered his true identity and refused to convert to Islam, she was subjected to physical assault, threats and force-fed beef—an act specifically intended to violate her religious beliefs and humiliate her as a Hindu. The act of feeding beef, in particular, was not incidental but a deliberate and symbolic form of religious desecration aimed at breaking her spiritual resolve. In Hinduism, cows are revered as sacred animals, symbolising life and sustenance, and the act of consuming beef is considered highly sacrilegious by Hindus. Therefore, compelling a Hindu to eat beef goes beyond mere dietary imposition; it is an intentional violation of their religious principles and an assault on their cultural and spiritual identity. 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. In addition to the assault, the victim was raped by Pasha’s brothers when she continued to resist conversion, and her children were threatened with death—methods that clearly indicate coercion and targeted intimidation. The pressure to convert extended beyond verbal abuse and became a coordinated effort involving sexual violence, religious humiliation through beef consumption, and threats to her family. These acts were not random or purely domestic in nature but were executed with the specific aim of forcing the woman to abandon her religion. Such actions, driven by hostility towards her Hindu faith, meet the criteria of a hate crime. For all these multiple reasons, this case warrants inclusion in the Hinduphobia Tracker. Disclaimer: Media reports state that the victim's ordeal began when she met the accused in 2022, though no exact date or month is provided. To document this case, we have used an indicative date—January 1, 2022—as a placeholder to represent the beginning of her suffering. While media coverage of the incident emerged in May 2025, the Hinduphobia Tracker records the incident based on when the victim’s ordeal began, not when it was reported.
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
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
