Dalit Hindu family coerced and assaulted to convert to Islam by Muslim man; daughter targeted for forced marriage

Case ID : cb2824c | Location : Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Fri, 28 November, 2025

Case ID : cb2824c

Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh, India

28 November, 2025

Dalit Hindu family coerced and assaulted to convert to Islam by Muslim man; daughter targeted for forced marriage

Predatory Proselytisation

Harassment, threats, coercion for conversion

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim

Attacked for refusal to convert

Case Summary

In Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh, a Dalit Hindu man named Deshraj Kanjad and his family were forced to convert to Islam by a Muslim man named Shahbaz. The accused also compelled Deshraj to marry off his Hindu daughter to him. The victim, Deshraj, was also subjected to physical assault by the accused. This incident came to light when the police arrested Shahbaz, son of Mohammad Shakeel, on 10th December 2025. According to the police, Deshraj Kanjad, son of Chhotelal and a resident of Naya Basti Munshiganj, filed a complaint at the police station on 9th December 2025. Deshraj stated that on the night of 29th November 2025, Shahbaz, a resident of the same village, verbally abused him, pressured him and his family to convert to Islam and to marry his daughter to him. He also threatened the family with severe consequences if they refused to convert. Deshraj stated that Shahbaz threatened to kidnap his daughter if he did not comply. When Deshraj refused to convert or give away his daughter, Shahbaz attempted to strangle him and physically assaulted him. Based on Desraj's complaint, a case was registered against the Muslim accused at Bhadokhar Police Station under various sections, including Sections 115(2), 352, and 351(3) of the Indian Penal Code, various sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and Section 3/5(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act. As part of an ongoing crackdown on criminals, the Bhadokhar police team arrested Shahbaz from the Dariyapur underpass within the police station jurisdiction. Following this, the accused was remanded to judicial custody.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

The primary category selected in this case is- Predatory Proselytisation. The subcategory selected is- Harassment, threats, coercion for conversion. Harassment covers a wide range of behaviours of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour that demeans, humiliates, and intimidates a person, including threats and coercion. Harassment and threats, in this case, find their root on discriminatory grounds which has the effect of nullifying a person’s rights or infringing upon his freedom to exercise his right specifically owing to the victim’s religious identity. Verbal and physical threats and psychological or physical harassment are often used against Hindu victims because they choose to practice their professed religion. Religious harassment also includes forced and involuntary conversions by harassment, threats or coercion. Coercion includes intimidatory tactics like force-feeding a Hindu victim beef to convert to another religion, forceful circumcision etc. In several cases documented, non-Hindu perpetrators or those who harbour specific animosity towards Hinduism, harass victims simply based on their religious identity. Such cases often also include harassment to ensure the Hindu victim abandons his/her professed religion and adopts the religion of the perpetrator. Such cases where Hindu victims are harassed to convert to the perpetrator’s religion are rooted in animosity towards the victim’s religious identity and are therefore documented as religiously motivated hate crimes. Another primary category selected is- Attack not resulting in death. The subcategory selected is- Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim. In several cases, Hindus are attacked for opposing religiously motivated crimes being committed against a fellow Hindu or simply for voicing an opinion opposing radical elements, who either have in the past or continue to persecute Hindus. In such cases, the initial attack against the victim, against which the Hindu was trying to defend the victim, would also need to be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the initial crime itself was religiously motivated and the subsequent crime of attempting to save the victim or speaking against the radical elements ends up inviting a violent attack, it would also be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. The other subcategory selected is- Attacked for refusal to convert. When there is pressure, threat or coercion employed upon the Hindu victim to convert to a different religion, in several cases, the victim refuses to succumb to the pressure/threats. Once the victim refuses, the perpetrator proceeds to attack/assault the victim owing to his/her refusal to convert. In such cases, the pressure/threat/intimidation/coercion/violence itself is driven by animosity towards the victim’s Hindu faith. The violence then is another hate crime driven by the victim’s refusal to abandon his professed faith, Hinduism, and convert to the religion of a non-Hindu perpetrator. Since the victim’s faith is at the heart of the pressure to convert and the ensuing violence towards the victim, such cases are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. This case is a clear and unmistakable instance of an anti-Hindu hate crime, grounded in a calculated and deliberate attempt to coerce a Hindu family to abandon their faith and convert to Islam. Deshraj Kanjad, the Hindu head of the family, along with his family members, faced relentless pressure from the accused, Shahbaz, to convert by force. This coercion was not a matter of choice or persuasion but a forcible attempt to strip the family of their religious identity. Shahbaz employed intimidation and menacing threats, explicitly warning the family that refusal to convert would result in severe and potentially devastating consequences. Such overt use of harassment and coercion reveals an underlying religious hostility explicitly aimed at the Hindu community. The effort to impose conversion infringes upon the family’s fundamental right to freely practise their faith. In this matter, the accused's actions transcend mere religious advocacy and represent a vindictive campaign to impose Islam on a Hindu family by forcibly overriding their deeply held beliefs. This strategic and deliberate violation of the family’s religious identity vividly illustrates entrenched anti-Hindu animosity. The gravity of this hate-fuelled assault was further amplified as the accused pressed not only for conversion but also demanded the forced marriage of the Hindu daughter to himself. This demand extends far beyond coercion of faith; it constitutes a profound act of humiliation and religiously targeted oppression. The insistence on marrying the daughter post-conversion is a calculated attempt to exert control not only over the family’s religious identity but also over their dignity and personal autonomy. This was not a genuine matrimonial proposal but a deliberate act of religious domination aimed at subjugating a Hindu woman—and by extension, her entire family—within the framework of forced conversion. Such conditional forced marriages expose a systemic pattern of targeting and profiling Hindu women on religious grounds. Consequently, this case stands as a stark and distressing example of an anti-Hindu hate crime, motivated by deep-seated animosity towards Hinduism and the Hindu community at large. When Deshraj resolutely refused to convert and opposed the forced marriage of his daughter, he became the target of violent retribution by the accused. Shahbaz physically assaulted, strangled, and subjected the Hindu victim, Deshraj, to brutal treatment. This violent attack on a Hindu man for protecting his family’s faith and honour reveals the extent of religious hatred harboured by the accused against the victims' Hindu identity. It is a distressingly common pattern in religiously charged environments for Muslim radicals to attack Hindus who resist forced conversions and extremist agendas. Deshraj’s defiance, met with such brutal violence, fits into a disturbing trend wherein those who defend the Hindu community from religiously motivated attacks themselves become victims of targeted violence. Furthermore, the accused's aggression was not limited to opposition to the forced marriage alone; Deshraj was also physically assaulted for refusing to convert and denying permission for his family’s conversion. The very act of refusing to abandon one’s religion sparked a violent and punitive response. Such assaults unambiguously expose the deep-rooted religious animosity directed at Hindus and their faith. Assaulting someone for rejecting forced religious conversion is an overt manifestation of a religiously motivated crime, driven by hatred and intolerance. Considering the multiple facets of this case—coercion, threats, violent assault, and targeted religious profiling—it unequivocally falls within the parameters of an anti-Hindu hate crime. In recognition of its severity and clear motivations, this case is being documented in the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker. Disclaimer: Reports state that Deshraj and his entire family were forced to convert to Islam; however, the exact number of family members affected is not specified. The available reports specifically mention only Deshraj and his daughter. Therefore, for the purpose of documenting this case in the Hinduphobia Tracker, we are using a conservative estimate and recording the victim count as '2', referring solely to Deshraj and his daughter.