19-year-old Hindu woman lured into relationship by Muslim man pretending to be Hindu, blackmailed and threatened to convert to Islam

Case ID : b45f5ae | Location : Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Sat, 4 January, 2025
Case ID : b45f5ae
location Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh, India
date 4 January, 2025
19-year-old Hindu woman lured into relationship by Muslim man pretending to be Hindu, blackmailed and threatened to convert to Islam
Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes
Man pretends to be Hindu
Name Changed
Blackmailed to convert
Assault or threat upon refusal to convert

Case Summary

In Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh, a man deceived a young Hindu woman and committed serious crimes against her. Najam, a resident of Kachchi Haveli Mohalla in Jehanabad, introduced himself as Vishal and formed a relationship with a 19-year-old Hindu woman under false pretences. Over two years, he engaged in physical relations with her by promising marriage. The situation came to light when the woman’s father caught Najam with her. Upon being confronted, Najam revealed his real identity, shocking the woman and her family. According to the complaint filed by her father, Najam deliberately misled the woman into believing he belonged to her religion. He later attempted to coerce her into converting to his religion and reportedly issued threats to her life when she refused. The father reported Najam of exploiting the woman’s trust and taking advantage of her under the pretence of marriage. Following the revelations, the family approached the Sungarhi police station and lodged a formal complaint against Najam. Based on the complaint, the police registered a case under sections related to forced conversion, sexual assault, and issuing threats. Authorities launched an investigation and are actively searching for the accused.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This 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. Within this, the tertiary category selected 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 selected here 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 relevant 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. Many aspects mark this case as driven by hate and bigotry. Firstly, the Muslim man masquerades as a Hindu to lure the Hindu woman into a relationship. This deceptive and manipulative behaviour, which involved concealing his true religious identity, is a clear case of religious hate. By posing as someone who shares her faith, he manipulated her trust and violated her ability to make informed decisions about her relationships. This deception is not just a personal betrayal but a targeted attack on her religious identity, as the girl's trust was built on the belief that she was interacting with someone from her own religious community. Secondly, he violates her trust by recording obscene videos and then uses them to blackmail her into converting to Islam. Further, when his real identity is revealed to the victim, he threatens to kill her. These were all arm-twisting tactics to coerce the victim into complying with his conversion demands. This case is a glaring example of how deep-seated intolerance can manifest in violent and coercive actions, with the ultimate goal of religious subjugation and domination. The deliberate nature of the deception and the subsequent attempt to force conversion highlights the extent of disdain the accused harboured for the victim's faith, making this a clear case of religiously motivated hate.

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 0
  • Adult 1
  • Senior Citizen 0
  • Unknown 0
Case Status Background
Gavel Icon

Case Status


Complaint registered

Case Status Background
Gavel Icon

Perpetrators Details

Perpetrators


Muslim Extremists

Perpetrators Range


One Person

Perpetrators Gender


male

Case Details SVG
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