Minor Hindu girl abducted for the second time by same Muslim man in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India 
19 November, 2024
Case Summary
A minor Hindu girl was kidnapped for the second time by a Muslim man named Raunak Ali in the Mirzamurad area of Varanasi. The same 16-year-old girl had previously been kidnapped by Raunak Ali in November 2024, after which he was arrested and jailed. However, after his release, he lured the girl and repeated the crime on August 17 2025. The girl’s father filed a complaint the same night, naming Raunak Ali. The incident left the family devastated and raised concerns in the local community about repeated offences and weaknesses in the legal system that allowed Ali to commit repeated crimes. The Station in-charge, Pramod Pandey, confirmed that a new case of kidnapping was registered against Ali, and police teams were working to trace the girl and apprehend the accused.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, displays multiple indicators of a religiously motivated hate crime, given that the same minor Hindu girl was kidnapped twice by a Muslim man, Raunak Ali. The pattern of repeated targeting suggests deliberate intent and a sustained exercise of power over a vulnerable victim, rather than an isolated or spontaneous act. The fact that the accused reoffended after being previously jailed for the same crime points to a concerning breakdown in deterrence and reflects the persistence often seen in cases where gendered and religious vulnerabilities intersect. However, in the absence of concrete evidence establishing that the crime was carried out with the intention of religious conversion, coercion, or explicit hostility towards the Hindu identity of the victim, the case cannot be definitively categorised as a hate crime. The nature of the act, its recurrence, choice of victim, and underlying imbalance of power do imply a strong possibility of deeper social and religious motives, yet no formal record or testimony confirms such motivation at this stage. Given these factors, the incident meets several characteristics typically associated with hate crimes but lacks substantiating evidence of religious intent. Therefore, it has been placed in the Undecided Database of the Hinduphobia Tracker. Should further information emerge, particularly evidence demonstrating that the act was rooted in religious hostility or coercive intent, the classification will be revisited and updated accordingly.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 1
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 1
Age Group
- Minor 1
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Complaint registered
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
