Hindu girl strangled to death by Muslim boyfriend; Salman and accomplices Shahenshah, Sarwar, Javed arrested
Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India 
30 May, 2024
Case Summary
On September 21, 2024, police in Sultanpur district, Uttar Pradesh, recovered the body of an unidentified woman, later identified as Priyanka, who had been missing since May 31. Her grandfather filed a complaint with Kadipur police on June 1, stating that Priyanka had left home at around 10 PM to use the washroom but never returned. The family conducted extensive searches but could not locate her. The grandfather suspected she may have been lured away and prompted the police to register an FIR. During the ongoing probe, an anonymous body was discovered in the Gosaiganj police station area. A post-mortem examination revealed that the victim had been strangled. Following this revelation, the police added murder charges to the existing case. Investigations uncovered that Priyanka had been in a long-term relationship with Salman, who had previously taken her to Mumbai. After their return, Priyanka went to meet Salman again in Gosaiganj, where they planned to stay together. As their relationship progressed, Priyanka began pressuring Salman for marriage. In response, Salman and his friends, Sarwar, Shahenshah and Javed, concocted a plan to eliminate her after she threatened to report them if they refused her demands. They ultimately murdered Priyanka and disposed of her body in a secluded area within Gosaiganj police jurisdiction. Shahenshah was the first to be arrested, followed by Salman, Sarwar and Javed on October 1 after a police encounter. The trio opened fire on officers during their capture and sustained injuries. Illegal weapons and cartridges were found with them.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
In this case, the girl was in a long-term consensual relationship with the Muslim perpetrator. The immediate trigger of the murder by the perpetrators was the Hindu woman's insistence on marriage after the long-term relationship the couple was in. While this is a case of a Hindu woman being murdered in a relationship by a Muslim perpetrator, we have to consider the fact that the relationship was consensual and there was no deception involved. From the available information, there is evidence to substantiate that the Muslim man had misled the victim into a relationship by feigning his religious identity. There is also no evidence to suggest that there was any pressure to convert and/or friction because of the religious difference. To that effect, there has also been no allegation of religious strife made by the family of the victim. While there are suspicions that the motivation of the perpetrator could have been religious animosity or that the murder was a result of the Muslim perpetrator not wanting to marry a Hindu woman after exploiting her, owing to the lack of specific indications, this case is being added to the undecided database. If more information emerges, it would be added to the hate crime database.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
1
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 1
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 1
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
