Muslim girl brainwashes Hindu youth to convert, lures with marriage; family intervenes during circumcision, helps him revert to Hinduism
Jetpur, Gujarat, India 
4 July, 2023
Case Summary
A Hindu youth named Ashish Goswami, a resident of Jetpur in the Rajkot district of Gujarat, was brainwashed and converted to Islam after establishing contact with a Muslim girl from Bangladesh through Instagram. The 22-year-old embraced Islam approximately six months prior, with the intention of marrying the Bangladeshi Muslim girl. Following his conversion, Ashish left his family home, began residing in a mosque and changed his name to Sheikh Mohammad Alsami. Ashish’s father stated that the Bangladeshi Muslim girl exerted pressure on Ashish to convert to Islam in order to proceed with their marriage. Ashish used to spend the entire day at the mosque, diligently performing the five daily prayers known as namaz. He also used to watch videos of Zakir Naik on various social media platforms, including YouTube. Hindu organisations and his family members intervened when it was revealed that Ashish, accompanied by two Muslim youths, had visited a government hospital with the purpose of undergoing circumcision. His family was compelled to involve the police for assistance. Reports indicate that Hindu organisations and revered saints, including Kanhaiyanand Maharaj from Jetpur, collaborated to successfully reintegrate the individual back into the Sanatan fold, as he did a Ghar Wapsi on the night of July 5, 2023. Engaging in a two-hour conversation, the young man, Ashish Goswami, began to acknowledge his error and realised that he had succumbed to Islamic influences. Mahant Kanhaiyanand shared that the youth’s decision to convert to Islam was prompted by the influence of Zakir Naik – a fugitive Islamic preacher, and similar clerics. Maharaj adorned Ashish’s forehead with a Chandan tilak and Ashish used a trimmer to remove the beard he had grown. Hindu activists from various organisations assembled outside the youth’s residence and raised the chants of “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and “Jai Shri Ram.” Once converted Ashish, joined the group to recite the Hanuman Chalisa.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
In this case, the Hindu youth was brainwashed into accepting Islam. The Muslim perpetrator lured him under the false promise of marriage and groomed him by showing him videos of Islamic hate preacher Zakir Naik. He was gradually conditioned into believing that Islam is a superior religion and groomed into following Islamic practices like reading Namaz and undergoing circumcision. The fact that the Hindu man was trapped with the sole aim of conversion, makes this case worthy of being documented under this category. For the record, in our database, we have not added incidents where men 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 man for his 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 incident 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 himself says that he was brainwashed/groomed to convert his religion. However, if the victim is deceased (murdered or otherwise), the case would form a part of this database if his family/friends provided testimony that the victim was brainwashed/groomed to convert his religion. Since these crimes have a distinct religious angle where the victim is being targeted owing to his Hindu religious identity, these cases are considered hate crimes.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
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
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
