Divorced Hindu woman and her minor daughter sexually assaulted by Muslim man on the pretext of marriage

Case ID : aa4b2be | Location : Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Fri, 31 January, 2025

Case ID : aa4b2be

Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India

31 January, 2025

Divorced Hindu woman and her minor daughter sexually assaulted by Muslim man on the pretext of marriage

Undecided cases

Rape or sexual harassment/assault of a Hindu woman

Case Summary

A 37-year-old divorced Hindu woman was repeatedly raped by a Muslim man under the pretext of marriage. The woman also stated that the accused sexually assaulted her 14-year-old daughter. According to news reports by Sudarshan News and Amar Ujala, the accused was identified as Naushad. However, Dainik Bhaskar reported the accused’s name as Ashu Khan. The victim, originally from Agra, was living in Mumbai with her children following her divorce. She had divorced her husband 7 years ago. In February 2025, during a train journey, she met Naushad, a resident of Bhopal. The accused gained the woman's trust and claimed that he could secure her a good job in Bhopal. The woman fell into Naushad’s trap and travelled to Bhopal. With nowhere else to stay, she and her children moved directly into Naushad’s house. Naushad, who sold bags for a living, put the woman to work in the same trade. During this period, Naushad began raping the woman under the pretext of marriage. When she pressed him to fulfil his promise, Naushad began making excuses and eventually refused to marry her. The woman also said that Naushad sexually assaulted her minor daughter. Distressed by these events, the woman approached the local police and filed a complaint against Naushad. The police registered a case and arrested the accused. Hindu organisations were informed, and subsequently, they arrived at the police station, demanding the strictest action against the accused. They also described the incident as an act of ‘Love Jihad’. However, after interrogating the victim, the police dismissed the ‘Love Jihad’ angle, but did register a case against the accused for raping the woman. The police also referred the minor daughter for counselling to determine whether she had also been sexually assaulted by the accused.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

In this case a Hindu woman was raped multiple times by a Muslim man under the pretext of marriage. Even her 14-year-old minor daughter was sexually assaulted by the perpetrator. This could potentially be a crime motivated by religious profiling, as it has been observed that in many cases, Muslim perpetrators target Hindu women and girls due to inherent animosity towards Hindus, particularly Hindu women. Hindu women and girls are very vulnerable to crimes like rape and sexual exploitation at the hands of Muslim men. It could also be argued that for a Muslim perpetrator, a Muslim woman would likely be more accessible than a Hindu woman. The fact that the perpetrator specifically targeted the Hindu woman and her daughter suggests religious profiling of the victim. However, it is also possible that the crime was one of opportunity, where the Hindu woman was simply accessible to the Muslim perpetrator. Nevertheless, this remains speculative, as the case details provide no clear indication of religious motivations. Furthermore, the victim or her daughter has not made any statements suggesting a religious motive behind the crime. Even the police deny religious profiling in this case. For this reason, the case has been added to the 'Undecided' database. If further information emerges that hints towards a religiously motivated crime, then it would be reclassified and included under the Hate Crime database. Disclaimer: Media reports state that the victim's ordeal began when she met the accused in February 2025, though no exact date is provided. To document this case, we have used an indicative date— 1st February, 2025—as a placeholder to represent the beginning of her suffering. While media coverage of the incident emerged on 19th May 2025, the Hinduphobia Tracker records the incident based on when the victim’s ordeal began, not when it was reported.