Hindu woman on religious visit targeted and molested by Muslim posing as Hindu

Case ID : aa4b3f5 | Location : Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Thu, 31 October, 2024

Case ID : aa4b3f5

Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India

31 October, 2024

Hindu woman on religious visit targeted and molested by Muslim posing as Hindu

Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes

Man pretends to be Hindu

Name Changed

Pattern of targeting Hindu women

Case Summary

In Ujjain, a Muslim man named Shahrukh, posing as “Sonu,” befriended a Hindu girl visiting from Chhattisgarh and gained her trust by pretending to share her faith. After repeatedly insisting, he took her to a secluded spot near Chintaman Bridge, where he attempted to molest her and threatened her when she resisted. Police investigation found obscene chats and objectionable videos involving several Hindu girls. The girl is a resident of Rajnandgaon district in Chhattisgarh. She had come with her family in November 2024 to visit Mahakal. During this time, a youth who introduced himself as Sonu and claimed to be a Hindu, met the girl’s family and started showing them around religious sites. The girl paid him the bus fare via PhonePe. After that, the youth got the girl’s number from PhonePe and began messaging her. Presenting himself as Sonu, he sent her pictures of temples and even heart-themed images to create a false impression of being religious and emotionally attached. The girl was drawn in and fell into his trap. The girl returned to Baba Mahakal’s shrine on 23 May. She stayed in a hotel room in the Begambagh area. To visit Mahakal, the girl called Shahrukh. At that time, Shahrukh said he no longer had a magic rickshaw but would take her on his motorcycle to the shrine. Initially, the girl refused to go with him. Later, after his repeated insistence, she agreed to accompany him. Around 8 pm, Shahrukh came to pick her up from Harsiddhi temple and took her to Chintaman Ganesh temple for darshan. After the darshan, the girl asked Shahrukh to drop her at the Mahakal temple. At this time, Shahrukh took her on his bike to a deserted path near Chintaman bridge, pulled her hand, and started molesting her. When the girl raised an alarm, Shahrukh threatened to kill her if she made more noise. Hearing the girl’s cries, some people nearby arrived and caught the accused. It was later found that Sonu’s real name was Shahrukh and that he was married with children. On receiving information, local Hindu organisations became active and informed the Chintaman police station. The police seized the accused’s mobile phone and, upon investigation, found obscene chats and objectionable videos involving more than 100 Hindu girls. At the time of writing this report, the investigation was ongoing.

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. Within it, the sub-category selected is: - Man pretends to be Hindu, with the tertiary category being: - Name changed and Pattern of targeting Hindu women. 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. This incident qualifies as a religiously motivated hate crime due to the deliberate deception involved, rooted in the targeting of the victim’s religious identity. The accused, Shahrukh, intentionally concealed his Muslim identity by adopting a Hindu name, 'Sonu' and by presenting himself as a devotee who shared the girl’s faith. He used religious imagery and temple visits to establish trust, all the while concealing his true identity. This indicates a premeditated intent to manipulate her based on her religious background. In cases like these, the tactic of adopting a false Hindu identity to manipulate and "ensnare" a Hindu individual is not just an act of personal betrayal but can also be interpreted as an expression of disdain or disregard for Hinduism and its customs that reflects a deeper animosity towards Hindus and their beliefs. The involvement of over 100 other Hindu girls found on the accused’s phone, through obscene chats and objectionable videos, strongly indicates a pattern of targeting Hindu women. The targeting of a Hindu woman was not random; instead it was by design. In fact, the accused followed a pattern wherein he first religiously profiled the victim and then deceived them by pretending to share their faith, then physically exploited them. This targeted attack is a direct expression of hate and intolerance towards the victim's religion, hence, this case has been classified as a religious hate crime. Disclaimer: Media reports state that the victim’s ordeal began when she came into contact with the accused in November 2024. Therefore, to document this case, we have chosen a date, which is not accurate but only indicative of the month and year, to represent the beginning of her suffering. While media coverage of the incident emerged on May 25, 2025, the Hinduphobia Tracker records the incident based on when the victim’s ordeal began, not when it was reported.