Hindu youth lured with inducements and forcibly converted to Islam by Muslim men in Uttar Pradesh

Case ID : b1c5d9e | Location : Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Tue, 14 October, 2025

Case ID : b1c5d9e

Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, India

14 October, 2025

Hindu youth lured with inducements and forcibly converted to Islam by Muslim men in Uttar Pradesh

Predatory Proselytisation

Conversion/ attempts to convert by inducement

Case Summary

In Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, a Hindu man named Golu Mishra was forcibly converted to Islam by four Muslim men. The accused had lured the victim with inducements and a promise of marriage to carry out the forced conversion. The victim, Golu Mishra, was targeted by Muslim men from his own village. The accused are identified as Shahzade, Akbal, Ashfaq Ali, and Munna Pradhan, who approached him under the pretense of friendship. According to Golu's father, Amardas Mishra, a respected Hindu sage residing in Rajapur Mafi under the jurisdiction of Ramgaon police station, the men enticed Golu with the promise of a motorcycle and a prospective marriage. Golu, already married, was swayed by the prospect of leaving his wife and starting a new life, making him vulnerable to the perpetrators’ schemes. Following this, Amardas Mishra lodged a complaint against the accused in this matter. The police registered a First Information Report (FIR) and initiated an investigation into the case. A detailed video interview of the victim went viral on social media. It was posted by an X (formerly Twitter) handle named 'The Treeni'. The interview was conducted by Karan Singh, President of Rashtra Dharak Dal, a Hindu organisation. In the interview, Golu Mishra himself admitted that he had been lured into the conversion with material incentives and the promise of marriage. He also named one Munna Pradhan, who promised him a bike if he converted to Islam. He confirmed that the inducement specifically exploited his desire to abandon his current marital commitment.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

The primary category selected in this case is: Predatory Proselytisation. The subcategory under this is: Conversion/ attempts to convert by inducement. Predatory Proselytisation is not just limited to threat, harassment, force and violence, but it also has contours of stealth. In several cases, the Hindu victim is exploited to convert, with non-Hindus taking advantage of their poverty. In such cases, the Hindu victim who is suffering financially is offered monetary benefits, including lucrative offers for jobs, health treatment, education, etc, to induce the victim into changing his/her religion. In such cases, the religious identity of the victim and the aim to disenfranchise him from his faith form the heart of the crime. Also, taking advantage of and exploiting an individual’s economic vulnerabilities is widely acknowledged as exploitation, forms of which are often penalised by law. Such cases therefore are considered religiously motivated hate crimes since the victim’s religious identity forms the very heart of the crime itself. This case has been added to the Hinduphobia Tracker because it represents a clear instance of predatory proselytisation directed specifically at a Hindu individual. The victim, Golu Mishra, was deliberately targeted by Muslim individuals who exploited his personal circumstances and vulnerabilities to coerce him to convert to Islam. The use of material inducements, a motorcycle, the promise of marriage, and other incentives reflects a calculated effort to manipulate and disenfranchise the victim from his religious identity. Such acts are not merely personal betrayals; they constitute religiously motivated exploitation where the faith of the victim is central to the crime. The deliberate targeting of a Hindu man in this manner situates the case firmly within the category of religiously motivated hate crimes. The perpetrators did not simply seek a relationship or personal gain; they specifically exploited Golu’s Hindu identity, understanding that without the deception and inducement, he would not have consented to conversion. By exploiting his economic and social vulnerabilities, the perpetrators demonstrated animosity toward the victim’s religion, making the act a hate-driven offence. Predatory proselytisation, as observed in this case, is not restricted to overt force or harassment but includes subtler methods of exploitation, often relying on economic, social, or psychological leverage. In Golu’s situation, the inducement was directly linked to his desire to abandon his marital commitment, but the underlying mechanism of coercion was the exploitation of his Hindu identity. This deliberate targeting of a Hindu for religious conversion, using manipulation and material enticement, reveals systemic intent to undermine the victim’s faith, thereby qualifying the case as a hate crime. By documenting and tracking such cases, the Hinduphobia Tracker aims to highlight patterns of religiously motivated coercion and exploitation against Hindus. This incident underscores how non-violent, seemingly persuasive tactics, such as promises of material gain or relational advantage, are employed specifically to erode the faith and religious autonomy of Hindu individuals. Therefore, this case is being added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records the date of incidents based on when the crime occurred or when the victim’s ordeal began, rather than the date when it was reported by the media. However, in this particular case, since media reports do not specify the exact date of when the victim’s ordeal began, and the viral video circulated on Twitter (now X) also lacks a timestamp of the crime, the date of occurrence cannot be independently verified. Hence, for documentation purposes, the date 15 October 2025, when media reports about the incident first emerged, is being recorded as the indicative date of occurrence. This date is meant solely for record-keeping and should be treated as an estimated reference point for the victim’s ordeal.