Hindu youth stabbed to death by Muslim girlfriend's kin
West Delhi, Delhi, India 
1 July, 2023
Case Summary
On July 2, 2023, in Delhi's Zakira region, a 20-year-old man named Raj Kumar was murdered by family members of a Muslim girl due to his interfaith relationship with her. The accused, identified as Ashfaq and Meraj, stabbed Kumar over a dozen times and slit his throat, resulting in his death at the scene. Initially unidentified, the victim's body was found buried in bushes next to a park in Inderlok, north of Delhi, on July 3. The police launched investigations, utilising CCTV footage and forming teams to identify the deceased and locate suspects. Despite challenges posed by the lack of nearby CCTV cameras and unclear timing of the incident, Raj Kumar was identified, and two suspects were observed in a nearby video. Through an extensive information network and a tip-off, the police apprehended the suspects, who confessed to the crime. The accused believed that Kumar's absence would go unnoticed, given his infrequent visits to his hometown. The police recovered knives and blood-stained garments used in the crime.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
When Hindu men are in a relationship with non-Hindu women, there are cases where the man is forced/pressured to convert his religion and upon his refusal to do so, the family of the non-Hindu partner murders the victim. Such relationships may be consensual with the religious identity of the non-Hindu woman known to the victim. Somewhere along the relationship, the non-Hindu woman and her family start forcing/pressurizing the Hindu man to convert. In some of these cases, the association could be non-consensual as well or, the religious identity of the non-Muslim woman could be previously unknown to the Hindu victim. In such cases, the Hindu man is first forced/pressurized to change his religion by the non-Hindu woman’s family. The pressure could involve threats. The trigger to murdering the Hindu man in these cases is his refusal to comply and change his religion under threat and/or force. In other cases that have been documented, it is also seen that the Hindu partner is murdered by the family of the non-Hindu woman simply for his relationship with the non-Hindu woman and by virtue of him following the Hindu faith and not the religion of the non-Hindu woman. In such cases, the relationship is consensual in most cases and the religion of both partners is known to the other. Often, in such cases, there is no direct force/pressure to convert either, however, the murder is a result of the Hindu man being in a relationship with the non-Hindu partner and not following her religion/following Hinduism specifically. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
1
Gender
- Male 1
- Female 0
- 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
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
