Hindu girl deceived by Muslim constable posing as Hindu; pressured to convert, physically assaulted

Case ID : b45f561 | Location : Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Thu, 26 December, 2024

Case ID : b45f561

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

26 December, 2024

Hindu girl deceived by Muslim constable posing as Hindu; pressured to convert, physically assaulted

Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes

Blackmailed to convert

Assault or threat upon refusal to convert

Man pretends to be Hindu

Name Changed

Case Summary

In Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, a police constable named Badshah Khan was accused of deception, blackmail, and coercion. Originally identifying himself as "Amit," Badshah befriended a Hindu nursing student in 2014 and developed a relationship with her. The victim said that he extorted money, manipulated her emotionally, and coerced her into physical intimacy, later pressuring her to convert to Islam. Badshah married a Muslim woman in 2015 but continued his relationship with the victim, promising to divorce his wife. Over the years, he engaged in black magic and created discord within the victim's family, leading to her estrangement. He extorted approximately ₹55 lakh from her, including an initial ₹50,000 transfer after she discovered his true identity. Badshah pressured her to convert, citing the permissibility of four marriages in Islam, and offered to make her his second wife. The situation escalated in 2024 when Badshah demanded ₹10 lakh from the victim, threatening to release explicit videos and harm her family if she refused. When she declined, Badshah, along with his wife, located her via her phone and physically assaulted her. The victim’s complaint also implicates Badshah’s brother in the extortion scheme. Following the victim’s report, a departmental inquiry was initiated against Badshah Khan.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

The case has been added to the tracker under the prime category of- Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. Under this, the first sub-category selected is- Man pretends to be Hindu and the tertiary category chosen is- Name changed. 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 under which this case has been placed is- Blackmailed to convert. When Hindu women are in a relationship with non-Hindu men, there are cases where the woman is blackmailed to convert her religion, owing to her religious identity of being a Hindu. Such relationships may be consensual with the religious identity of the non-Hindu man known to the victim, however, there could be cases where the relationship is not consensual and the non-Hindu man starts blackmailing a Hindu woman to convert her religion. In these cases, it is often seen that the Hindu woman is blackmailed with intimate photos and/or videos, threats of harm to her or her family, threats of violence etc. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. The third 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. What gives this case a distinct religious angle is that the Muslim perpetrator actively hid his religion and pretended to be a Hindu to ensnare the Hindu woman. This itself is a clear manifestation of bias and malicious intent towards the victim's religion. By concealing his true identity, he exploited her trust, targeting her under false pretences. This indicates a premeditated intent to manipulate her based on her religious background. In cases like these, the tactic of adopting a false Hindu identity to manipulate and "ensnare" a Hindu individual is not just an act of personal betrayal but can also be interpreted as an expression of disdain or disregard for Hinduism and its customs that reflects a deeper animosity towards Hindus and their beliefs. This is one of the primary reasons why this case has been added to the tracker. The religious nature of the crime became evident when the Muslim man exploited the victim physically and used her videos and photos to blackmail her into converting to Islam. He emotionally manipulated her by offering to make her his second wife if she converted. Engaging in black magic, he created discord in her family, leading to estrangement. These coercive tactics, coupled with demands for money and physical assault upon refusal, highlight his intent to target the victim due to her religious identity. Thus, this case has been included in the Hinduphobia tracker.