Muslim man becomes ‘Raju’ to abduct a 15-year-old Hindu girl in UP, convert her to Islam

Case ID : ac55e31 | Location : Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Thu, 30 December, 2021

Case ID : ac55e31

Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh, India

30 December, 2021

Muslim man becomes ‘Raju’ to abduct a 15-year-old Hindu girl in UP, convert her to Islam

Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes

Man pretends to be Hindu

Name Changed

Brainwashed and/or groomed

Conversion of minor

Case Summary

In Kasganj Uttar Pradesh a Muslim youth trapped a Hindu minor girl by posing as a Hindu boy and later forced her to convert to Islam. The 15-year-old girl studying in class 10 was kidnapped by a Muslim in the Amanpur locality of Kasganj, after which the girl’s family members complained to him at the police station. The Muslim man posed as a Hindu boy named Raju to trick the girl and abducted her while she was on her way to school. Later, a video appeared on social media that showed a girl in a black burqa confessing her love for the Muslim man (Raju) who abducted her. The 15-year-old girl in the video that went viral said that she was in a relationship with ‘Raju’ for the past 7 years and that they trusted each other. She said this while looking at the person above the camera as if she was being instructed to say so. In action, Kasganj SP Rohan Pramod Botre, after lodging the official complaint, immediately ordered to form several teams in search of the Muslim man and put his mobile on surveillance. As a result of this, the Muslim and the minor teenager recovered within 24 hours. The accused was arrested.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been listed to the hate tracker under the prime category- Hate crime against women in relationship and sexual crimes. Further, as per case details, two sub-categories under the abovementioned prime category has been selected here. the first is- Man pretends to be Hindu- 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 second sub-category under which the case has been added is- Brainwashed and/or groomed, under which a tertiary category namely, conversion of minor. In our database, we have not added incidents where women have converted to another religion of their free will and no allegations of forced/involuntary conversion have been made. However, there are certain cases of conversion where the consent itself is a result of the brainwashing or grooming of a minor by the non-Hindu perpetrator trying to victimise a woman for her Hindu religious identity. The phenomenon of grooming points to non-Hindu perpetrators identifying their Hindu victims’ vulnerabilities and exploiting them over months and sometimes years, to extract the supposed ‘consent’ in order to convert their religion. In most cases of grooming, the victims are minors or the grooming started when the victim was a minor. In other cases of grooming, the non-Hindu perpetrator brainwashes and grooms a minor victim to extract their trust and then proceeds to rape them repeatedly with the intent of converting them to their faith. It is pertinent to understand here that when the victim is a minor, the ‘consent’ to convert or enter into a romantic relationship with an adult itself is redundant – addressed by POCSO. While every case of conversion of a minor and incidents of establishing a physical relationship with a minor by an adult is a crime, for the purpose of this database, a case would be considered a hate crime only if there is a distinct religious angle to the grooming. For example, in the UK, if a Hindu minor is targeted by Pakistani grooming gangs, it would be considered a hate crime because the victims are specifically targeted owing to their non-Muslim religious identity with the perpetrators being Muslim. In other cases, if a Hindu minor is brainwashed into entering a physical relationship with the non-Hindu adult perpetrator and the family alleges grooming/brainwashing of the minor to convert her religion, it would form a part of this database. If the victim is a Hindu adult, the case would form a part of this database only if the victim herself says that she was brainwashed/groomed to convert her religion. However, if the victim is deceased (murdered or otherwise), the case would form a part of this database if her family/friends provided testimony that the victim was brainwashed/groomed to convert her religion. Since these crimes have a distinct religious angle where the victim is being targeted owing to her Hindu religious identity, these cases are considered hate crimes. This incident where a Muslim youth trapped a Hindu minor girl by posing as a Hindu boy and later forced her to convert to Islam, is a religiously motivated hate crime for several reasons. First, the perpetrator's deliberate deception by assuming a false identity as a Hindu boy named "Raju" reflects a calculated attempt to exploit the girl's religious background. By posing as someone who shares her faith, he manipulated her trust and violated her ability to make informed decisions about her relationships. This deception is not just a personal betrayal but a targeted attack on her religious identity, as the girl's trust was built on the belief that she was interacting with someone from her own religious community. Second, the forced conversion to Islam underscores the religious dimension of the crime. The fact that the girl was pressured to abandon her faith and adopt another religion against her will is a clear violation of her religious freedom. Conversion through coercion, especially when the victim is a minor, is a severe infringement on her rights and autonomy. The use of force or manipulation to change someone's religion is a manifestation of religious intolerance and an attempt to erase the victim's original cultural and religious identity. Third, the video showing the girl in a black burqa, confessing her love for the perpetrator, raises concerns about the extent of coercion involved. The context, particularly the way she looks at someone off-camera as if being instructed on what to say, suggests that she is under duress. This further emphasizes the exploitative and manipulative nature of the crime, as the girl's autonomy and free will were likely compromised. This case is not just about an abduction or a relationship gone wrong; it is a clear example of how religious identity was used as a tool for manipulation, coercion, and control. The forced conversion, combined with the deceptive tactics employed by the perpetrator, reflects an underlying religious animosity. The crime was not merely motivated by personal gain or malice but was deeply intertwined with an intention to undermine the victim's religious beliefs and identity. As such, it qualifies as a religiously motivated hate crime, driven by a disregard for the victim's faith and a desire to impose a different religious identity upon her.