Minor Hindu girl elopes with Muslim barber, was brainwashed into preaching Islam by Muslim girl

Case ID : b50737a | Location : Pauri, Uttarakhand, India | Date of Incident : Sun, 27 October, 2024

Case ID : b50737a

Pauri, Uttarakhand, India

27 October, 2024

Minor Hindu girl elopes with Muslim barber, was brainwashed into preaching Islam by Muslim girl

Predatory Proselytisation

Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination

Conversion of minor

Family claims grooming

Case Summary

In Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, outrage erupted after the abduction of a 16-year-old Hindu girl by Salman, a 23-year-old Muslim barber, who also attempted to convert her to Islam. The girl’s mother lodged a complaint against Salman on October 28, accusing him of harassment and attempts to convert her daughter. On the same night, the girl went missing, prompting the police to launch an investigation. Further investigation revealed the girl had been brainwashed over time. She was reportedly in contact with a Muslim girl in Srinagar, across the Alaknanda River, who sent her videos and social media content related to Islam. Influenced by this, the girl adopted a Muslim name, "Muslim Amin Mirza," on social media and began promoting Islamic teachings. The school administration reported her behaviour to the authorities, leading to her family becoming aware of her actions. Salman and Mohsin exploited the girl by tempting her with mobile recharges and money, gradually luring her into their scheme. CCTV footage revealed the girl leaving a gym in Ufalda with two men, identified as Salman and Mohsin. Salman and his accomplices lured the girl to Najibabad, Uttar Pradesh. Using call records and local leads, the police traced the girl to Moazzampur Tulsi in Najibabad, where she was rescued. Salman, along with his relative Shan Malik (alias Imran) and local accomplice Rakesh Bhatt, was arrested and presented in court before being sent to jail. A case was filed under the Uttarakhand Religious Freedom Act and POCSO Act. The incident led to widespread protests by local Hindus, who demanded strict action against the perpetrators. Demonstrators damaged shops belonging to Salman and other Muslims, giving the police a 12-hour ultimatum to recover the girl and arrest the culprits. While Salman and Rakesh Bhatt are in custody, Mohsin remains at large.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category of- Predatory Proselytisation. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. Further, based on case details, the tertiary categories selected under the above-mentioned category are- 'conversion of minor' and 'family claims grooming'. Religious brainwashing essentially means the often subtle and forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up their religious beliefs to accept contrasting regimented ideas. Religious grooming or brainwashing also involves propaganda and manipulation. It involves the systematic effort, driven by religious malice and indoctrination, to persuade “non-believers’ to accept allegiance, command, or doctrine to and of a contrasting faith. Cases of such grooming or brainwashing are far more nuanced than direct threats, coercion, inducement and violence. In such cases, it is often seen that there is repeated, subtle and continual manipulation of the victim to induce disaffection towards their own faith and acceptance of the contrasting faith of the perpetrator. While subtle indoctrination is widely acknowledged as predatory, an element which is often understated in such conversions or the attempts of such conversion is the role of loyalty and trust which might develop between the perpetrator and the victim. Fiduciary relationships are often abused to affect such religious conversion. For example, an educator transmitting religious doctrine of a competing faith to a Hindu student. The Hindu student is likely to accept what the teacher is transmitting owing to existence of the fiduciary relationship. The exploitation of the fiduciary relationship to religiously indoctrinate victims would also be included in this category. Since the underlying animosity towards the victim’s faith forms the basis of predatory proselytization, such cases are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. In this case, the mother of the victim testified that their daughter was brainwashed and indoctrinated to adopt Islam. The accused were successful in brainwashing the minor girl to the extent that she not only adopted a Muslim name, "Muslim Amin Mirza," on social media and began promoting Islamic teachings. Since the motivating factor of the crime was the religious identity of the victim and the intention of the accused to disenfranchise her from it, the case has been categorised as a hate crime. Further, the details of this case reveal that the Hindu victims were minors, indicating a lack of consent and a genuine change of conscience. It is a well-established fact that children are more susceptible to manipulation since they are still developing emotionally, cognitively, and socially. Their brains are not fully matured, making them more vulnerable to influence and less capable of critically evaluating information. Moreover, subtle manipulation tactics can be difficult to detect, especially when employed by trusted authority figures in positions of influence. This makes it challenging for parents, to identify and address instances of religious manipulation. Consequently, cases involving religious manipulation of minors not only represent an infringement on an individual's religious freedom but also demonstrate a calculated strategy of targeting those who are less able to resist or understand the long-term implications of conversion, making it a significant case of religious motivated hate crime. For this reason, this case has been added to the tracker.