Hindu girl deceived by Muslim man posing as Hindu; raped by accused and his brother, assaulted, pressured to convert

Case ID : b45f494 | Location : Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Sun, 8 December, 2024

Case ID : b45f494

Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India

8 December, 2024

Hindu girl deceived by Muslim man posing as Hindu; raped by accused and his brother, assaulted, pressured to convert

Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes

Man pretends to be Hindu

Name Changed

Raped and/or murdered after Hindu woman finds out real identity

Assault or threat upon refusal to convert

Case Summary

A 24-year-old girl from Chandan Nagar, Indore, was pressured to convert to Islam and subjected to rape, intimidation, and physical assault by six individuals, including three women. The main accused, Arshad Pathan, first met the victim six months prior while working as an auto rickshaw driver. He befriended her under the name "Harish Thakur" and gradually developed a relationship with her. Over time, he convinced her family that he wanted to marry her, and they agreed to the relationship. He then raped her. Harish, who claimed to be an orphan, accompanied the girl on religious outings such as Ganesh Visarjan and Mata Darshan, keeping his true religious identity hidden. However, when the victim began discussing marriage, Harish revealed his true identity and demanded that she convert to Islam, stating that their marriage would be a Nikah ceremony. Initially, the victim thought he was joking, but Harish insisted that she would have to follow the instructions of his Imam. Later, Harish disclosed that he could not afford a big wedding, proposing a small ceremony instead. He then pressured her into having an unnatural relationship, and when she refused, he physically assaulted her. Harish told her that she had no choice and that she must endure the abuse for their marriage to happen. On December 9, 2024, the victim visited Arshad’s home to uncover the truth, where she encountered his father, Qadir, and his brother, Sabir. The situation escalated when Sabir, after an argument, raped her at knife-point, threatening to slit her throat if she told anyone about the incident. He further told her to live with him if she did not want to marry Arshad. Terrified, she returned home and confided in her mother. Fearing for her safety, she stayed at home for several days. Eventually, the victim reached out to Hindu activists and contacted the police, providing them with details of the abuse and threats. As a result, the police registered a case of rape, conversion, assault, and intimidation against Harish (Arshad Pathan), his brother Sabir, and their father Qadir, along with three other women involved in the harassment.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category- Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. The sub-category selected under the aforementioned category is- Man pretends to be Hindu, within which, the tertiary categories- 'Name changed' and 'Raped after Hindu woman finds out real identity', have also been selected. 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 selected here is- Assault or threat upon refusal to convert. When Hindu women are in a relationship with non-Hindu men, there are cases where the woman faces threats or assault after she refuses to convert and change her religious identity owing to pressure/force by the non-Hindu man. Such relationships may be consensual with the religious identity of the non-Hindu man known to the victim. Somewhere along the relationship, the non-Hindu man starts pressurizing the Hindu woman to convert to Islam and upon her refusal, assaults or threatens the victim. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. Cases where the Hindu woman converts to Islam and does not file a complaint about the force or threat, are not considered a part of the hate tracker, even though, it may be argued that the woman was brainwashed or threatened to convert to Islam. In this instance, the Muslim perpetrator concealed his religious identity to deceive and trap the Hindu woman, demonstrating clear bias and malicious intent toward her religion. This act of deception severely compromises the woman’s ability to make informed decisions regarding her relationship and religious choices. Furthermore, once his true identity was revealed, his attempt to pressure her into converting to Islam constituted a direct assault on her religious freedom. Such coercion infringes upon her right to practice her faith and maintain her religious identity. Forced conversion, whether through threats, manipulation, or emotional pressure, is a grave violation of religious rights and can be viewed as an effort to erase her cultural and religious identity. The deception of making a Hindu woman believe he shared her faith, only to later demand she abandon her religion, indicates a deep-seated contempt for her religious beliefs. This behaviour exemplifies an attempt to subjugate her faith, reinforcing notions of religious superiority and intolerance. The intent to change her religious identity through deceit and pressure underscores the underlying religious hatred and bigotry, driven by animosity toward the victim's religion.