Hundreds of Hindu girls groomed by Muslim man posing as Hindu

Case Summary
A Muslim man was apprehended in Indore's Bhanwarkua area for using a false identity to lure girls. The accused, initially introducing himself as "Sonu," reportedly befriended girls by promising them cheap mobile phones and inviting them to cafes. The incident came to light when Bajrang Dal workers, acting on a tip-off, confronted the man at a cafe in Ganesh Nagar. He was with a college student at the time. Upon interrogation, he disclosed his real name as Sohail and admitted to dealing in mobile phones. His mobile phone was found to contain over 100 girls' numbers, along with ongoing chats with several of them. Vishwa Hindu Parishad's coordinator, Tannu Sharma, stated that Sohail used deceptive tactics to manipulate girls and that he was involved in cases akin to "love jihad." The accused was handed over to the police, who seized his mobile phone for investigation. Inspector Rajkumar Yadav confirmed that the police are probing the matter and examining the evidence. However, the girl involved in the case declined to file an FIR.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category of- Crimes against women in relationships and sexual crimes. The first sub-category selected here is- Man pretends to be Hindu and the tertiary category selected under this 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- Brainwashed and/or groomed and within this, the tertiary category selected is- Pattern of targeting Hindu minors. In our database, we have not added incidents where women have converted to another religion of their free will and no allegations of forced/involuntary conversion have been made. However, there are certain cases of conversion where the consent itself is a result of the brainwashing or grooming of a minor by the non-Hindu perpetrator trying to victimise a woman for her Hindu religious identity. The phenomenon of grooming points to non-Hindu perpetrators identifying their Hindu victims’ vulnerabilities and exploiting them over months and sometimes years, to extract the supposed ‘consent’ in order to convert their religion. In most cases of grooming, the victims are minors or the grooming started when the victim was a minor. In other cases of grooming, the non-Hindu perpetrator brainwashes and grooms a minor victim to extract their trust and then proceeds to rape them repeatedly with the intent of converting them to their faith. It is pertinent to understand here that when the victim is a minor, the ‘consent’ to convert or enter into a romantic relationship with an adult itself is redundant – addressed by POCSO. While every case of conversion of a minor and incidents of establishing a physical relationship with a minor by an adult is a crime, for the purpose of this database, a case would be considered a hate crime only if there is a distinct religious angle to the grooming. For example, in the UK, if a Hindu minor is targeted by Pakistani grooming gangs, it would be considered a hate crime because the victims are specifically targeted owing to their non-Muslim religious identity with the perpetrators being Muslim. In other cases, if a Hindu minor is brainwashed into entering a physical relationship with the non-Hindu adult perpetrator and the family alleges grooming/brainwashing of the minor to convert her religion, it would form a part of this database. If the victim is a Hindu adult, the case would form a part of this database only if the victim herself says that she was brainwashed/groomed to convert her religion. However, if the victim is deceased (murdered or otherwise), the case would form a part of this database if her family/friends provided testimony that the victim was brainwashed/groomed to convert her religion. Since these crimes have a distinct religious angle where the victim is being targeted owing to her Hindu religious identity, these cases are considered a hate crime. The religious motive of the crime is evident from the fact that the Muslim perpetrator hid his true identity to trap the Hindu victims. This itself is a clear manifestation of bias and malicious intent towards the victim's religion. By concealing his true identity, he exploited the trust of his victims, targeting them under false pretences. This indicates a premeditated intent to manipulate them based on their 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, and this is why this case has been added here. Here it is important to note that the Muslim perpetrator is a repeat offender. He has targeted as many as 100 Hindu women. When a perpetrator specifically targets women of a particular faith, the crime transcends mere random violence; it becomes an act deeply rooted in religious intolerance. Such targeting is not only an attack on the individual but also a symbolic assault on the entire community that the victim represents. This type of targeted violence is not just an individual crime but a hate crime with broader social and religious implications. It stems from the perpetrator's deep animosity towards the victim's faith making it another reason for its inclusion in the Hinduphobia Tracker.

Case Status
Complaint filed

Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male