Hindu man in a consensual marriage with Muslim woman receives death threats from her family

Case ID : aa4b408 | Location : Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Sun, 25 May, 2025

Case ID : aa4b408

Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India

25 May, 2025

Hindu man in a consensual marriage with Muslim woman receives death threats from her family

Men attacked for being associated with non-Hindu women

Attacked by non-Hindu partner or/and her family

Case Summary

In Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, a Hindu man has been receiving death threats from his Muslim wife's family for marrying her. The marriage was consensual, yet the family had been harassing and threatening him. The Hindu man's 20-year-old Muslim wife Rifa posted a video on social media. In the video, Rifa stated that she has entered into a marriage of her own choosing with her neighbour, Vishnu. She reported that her mother initially sent her with Vishnu, but after the marriage, she was harassing her. According to her, the marriage was carried out with mutual consent. She expressed fear for her and her husband’s safety. She mentioned that her family members are upset with her decision and have been issuing death threats to Vishnu. She clearly mentioned in the video that if any harm were to come to her husband and his family in the future, her family should be held responsible. She further clarified that she is now an adult and married of her own free will, without any coercion. In the video, she stated that her uncles hired someone to kill her. She also appealed to her family not to harm the family of an auto driver named Arjun, whom she and her husband, Vishnu, had hired. She also named multiple Muslim individuals who were threatening her and Vishnu. In her appeal to the authorities through the video, Rifa requested police protection for herself and her husband so that they could live in peace. She affirmed that she is determined to stay with her husband under all circumstances and is content with her decision. The matter was under investigation by the Bareilly police. Officials stated that they were examining the authenticity of the viral video.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of - Men attacked for being associated with non-Hindu women. The sub-category selected is - Attacked by non-Hindu partner or/and her family. When Hindu men are in a relationship with non-Hindu women, there are cases where the man is forced to convert his religion and upon his refusal to do so, the partner or/and her family attacks the victim. Such relationships may be consensual with the religious identity of the non-Hindu woman known to the victim. Somewhere along the relationship, the non-Hindu woman or her family starts forcing/pressurizing the Hindu man to convert. In some of these cases, the association could be non-consensual as well or, the religious identity of the non-Hindu woman could be previously unknown to the Hindu victim. In such cases, the Hindu man is first forced/pressurized to change his religion by the non-Hindu woman or her family. The force/pressure could involve threats. The trigger for directing violence against the Hindu man is in these cases his refusal to comply and change his religion under threat and/or force. In other cases that have been documented, it is also seen that the Hindu partner is assaulted by the non-Hindu woman or her family simply for his relationship with the non-Hindu woman and by virtue of him following the Hindu faith and not the religion of the non-Hindu woman. In such cases, the relationship is consensual in most cases and the religion of both partners is known to the other. Often, in such cases, there is no direct force/pressure to convert either, however, the attack is a result of the Hindu man being in a relationship with the non-Hindu partner and not following her religion/following Hinduism specifically. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. In this case, Vishnu, a Hindu man, entered into a consensual marriage with Rifa, a Muslim woman. Rifa publicly stated in a viral video that her family, particularly her uncles, responded to the marriage not only with disapproval but with extreme hostility, including death threats directed at both her and Vishnu. She further disclosed that a contract killing was arranged by her uncles, and that the harassment began despite her mother's initial consent to the relationship. Rifa clearly stated that her uncles verbally threatened to have her killed, and also hired someone to target her. She named several individuals from the Muslim community who were threatening her and her husband. She also appealed to her family not to harm an auto driver named Arjun, whom the couple had engaged. While there is no confirmation of physical assault at this stage, the nature of the verbal attacks, involving threats of murder and communal targeting, indicates an atmosphere of fear and persecution centred around religious identity. Although Rifa herself did not pressure Vishnu to convert, the threats issued by her family are clearly rooted in opposition to a Hindu man remaining within the relationship without abandoning his faith. The verbal aggression appears to be motivated by religious intolerance rather than a mere familial objection. The fact that Rifa had to publicly declare her adulthood and consent, and warn that her family would be responsible if anything happened to her or Vishnu, further supports the view that the couple is under threat. This is a religiously motivated hate crime because the threats and verbal attacks directed at Vishnu, a Hindu man, are not due to any personal wrongdoing but because of his marriage to a Muslim woman without converting his religion. In the Islamic faith, a marriage is deemed illegitimate if the non-Muslim partner does not convert to Islam. For those who practice the faith, when their daughter marries a Hindu man without the man converting to Islam, the difference in religions followed becomes the main point of disapproval for the family of the Muslim woman. Because of the ingrained element of religious supremacy in Islam, even if the motivations are not explicit, it can reasonably be concluded as one of the determining factors of the assault or murder committed by the Muslim family against the Hindu man. Here, too, the hostility shown by the woman’s family and community stems from religious intolerance towards a Hindu man being in a relationship with a Muslim woman while continuing to follow his own faith. Since the threats are based on his religious identity and intended to punish or deter the interfaith union, the incident qualifies as a hate crime driven by religious bias. Disclaimer: It is important to clarify that the report does not specify the exact date when the death threats were issued. Therefore, for documentation purposes, we have recorded the date based on when the incident was reported in the media.