Tribal Hindu woman harassed and threatened with death by Muslim man over one-sided obsession
Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh, India 
16 May, 2025
Case Summary
In Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh, a married tribal Hindu woman (age 25) was harassed and threatened with death by a Muslim man named Mohammad Rafiq Sheikh (age 35). The accused repeatedly proposed to the victim, but she consistently rejected his advances. The victim is a resident of the Bajna police station area and has been married for three years. The accused, an old acquaintance of the victim, worked as an operator at the Hero Bike Showroom. The incident occurred when the victim had gone to her natal home for ten days. During this time, Rafiq Sheikh asked her to speak with him. When she refused, he began harassing her and issued threats to kill her and her entire family. He also warned the woman’s relatives not to send her back to her in-laws’ house. The victim also stated that she used to speak to Rafiq before her marriage, but had ceased all contact after getting married. Despite this, he continued to follow her daily and repeatedly proposed to her. When she rejected his advances, he threatened to kill her and her family. The woman subsequently informed her husband, and together they went to the Bajna police station to file a complaint against Rafiq. The police registered an FIR in the matter. Shortly after the FIR was filed, the accused, Rafiq, consumed pesticide. His family then took him to Rajasthan for treatment, without referring him to the local health centre. The police began investigating this matter. Bajna police station in-charge, Ranjeet Singar, stated that Rafiq had informed that he had consumed the pesticide. The incident sparked outrage among the local tribal Hindu community. Villagers protested by closing shops and demanded strict action from the authorities.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
In this case, the accused, Rafiq, had a one-sided obsession over the Hindu woman and constantly harassed and threatened her. This could potentially be a crime motivated by religious profiling, as it has been observed in many cases that Muslim perpetrators target Hindu women and girls due to inherent animosity towards Hindus, particularly Hindu women. Hindu women and girls are most vulnerable to crimes such as harassment over one-sided obsession at the hands of Muslim men. However, it is also possible that the crime was due to opportunity, where the Hindu woman was simply accessible to the Muslim perpetrator. 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 perpetrator specifically targeted the Hindu woman could suggest religious profiling. Nevertheless, this remains speculative, as the case details provide no clear indication of religious motivation. Furthermore, the victim has 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 hints at a religiously motivated crime, it will be reclassified and included in the Hate Crime database.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 1
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 1
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 0
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 
