Minor Hindu girl sexually exploited and subjected to death threats by Muslim man in Gujarat

Case ID : b1c5d4a | Location : Rajkot, Gujarat, India | Date of Incident : Wed, 28 September, 2022

Case ID : b1c5d4a

Rajkot, Gujarat, India

28 September, 2022

Minor Hindu girl sexually exploited and subjected to death threats by Muslim man in Gujarat

Undecided cases

Rape or sexual harassment/assault of a Hindu woman

Case Summary

In Rajkot, Gujarat, a minor Hindu girl was sexually exploited and threatened with death by a Muslim man named Sartaj alias Salim Hussain Solanki. According to the complaint filed by the victim's mother, she had been living separately from her husband for a decade in the Metoda area of Rajkot, supporting her family by working as a labourer. During this period, she was in a live-in relationship with the Muslim accused and was residing with him, along with her minor daughter. It was revealed that the Muslim accused had been sexually exploiting the minor girl for over three years, beginning when she was around 15 years old. He repeatedly threatened to kill her if she revealed the abuse to anyone. Based on the complaint, the Metoda GIDC (Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation) police registered a case under sections of rape and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and began an investigation into the incident. As of the date of writing this report, the accused is absconding.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

In this case, a minor Hindu girl was sexually exploited over several years by a Muslim man, Sartaj alias Salim Hussain Solanki, who was living with her mother in a live-in relationship. In this case, the accused was in a live-in relationship with the victim's mother; thus, he obviously knew their religious identity. This could potentially be a crime motivated by religious profiling, as it has been observed that in many cases, Muslim perpetrators target Hindu minor girls due to inherent animosity towards Hindus and their faith. Hindu girls are very vulnerable to crimes like rape and sexual assault at the hands of Muslim men. However, it is also possible that the crime was one of opportunity, where the minor Hindu girl was simply accessible to the Muslim perpetrator. Meanwhile, 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 a Hindu girl could suggest religious profiling of the victim. Nevertheless, this remains speculative, as the case details provide no clear indication of religious motivations, nor did the victim's mothers in her complaint indicate a religious motive. For this reason, this case has been added to the 'Undecided' database. If further information emerges that hints towards a religious motivation behind this crime, then it would be reclassified and included under the Hate Crime database. Disclaimer: It is important to clarify that none of the media sources covering this case have specified the exact date when the victim's ordeal began, though it is mentioned that the victim was sexually exploited for about three years. Thus, to document this case, we have used an indicative date—29 September 2022—as a placeholder to represent the beginning of her suffering. While media coverage of the incident emerged on 29 September 2025. The Hinduphobia Tracker records the date of incident based on when the victim’s ordeal began, not when it was reported.