Hindu woman lured, kidnapped, sexually exploited, and forced to marry by Muslim man posing as Hindu

Case ID : d06ca51 | Location : Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Sat, 24 May, 2025

Case ID : d06ca51

Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India

24 May, 2025

Hindu woman lured, kidnapped, sexually exploited, and forced to marry by Muslim man posing as Hindu

Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes

Brainwashed and/or groomed

Rape and sexual assault/harassment

Man pretends to be Hindu

Forced conversion after marriage

Forced to do Nikah

Case Summary

In the Indirapuram police station area of Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, a Hindu woman was lured, abducted, and sexually exploited by a Muslim man who posed as a Hindu. He subsequently forced her to marry him, which led to tensions in the local area. According to reports, the Muslim accused, identified as Akbar, deceived the Hindu woman, who is the daughter of a BJP leader, by concealing his true identity. He lured and subjected her to sexual exploitation and mental torture, eventually he kidnapped her and forced her to marry him. News of the incident spread within the local Hindu community, prompting outrage. In retaliation, community members gathered at the perpetrator’s shop and home, causing a disturbance. Police were notified and arrived at the scene to restore order. They registered a case against the Muslim accused and assured the community that appropriate action would be taken. An investigation was launched to apprehend Akbar, who was initially absconding, and the police urged residents to maintain law and order. Subsequently, the DCP Trans Hindon Commissionerate Ghaziabad posted on their official X handle that the victim had stated she was held hostage by the accused. Police confirmed that they had successfully rescued the woman and arrested Akbar.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the hate crime database under the primary category- Crimes against Women in relationships and other sexual crimes. The subcategory selected is- Man Pretends to be Hindu. 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 other subcategory selected is- Brainwashed and/or Groomed. The tertiary selected under this is- Rape or sexual assault/ Harassment. 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 other subcategory selected is- Forced conversion before marriage. Within this, the third subcategory selected is- Forced to do Nikah. In such cases, a non-Hindu man marries a Hindu woman, and the force/pressure to convert to Islam begins after marriage. In such cases, typically, two patterns emerge. First, when the relationship is consensual, and the religious identity of the perpetrator is known to the Hindu woman in the relationship. The marriage could be under the Special Marriages Act, where neither parties are required to convert their religion for the marriage to be considered legitimate. While the victim in such cases enters matrimony assuming that religious identity is not a barrier, the non-Hindu man starts to pressure the woman to convert to Islam after marriage. The second is when the woman gets into a marriage with the man pretending to share her faith. Later, when the truth is revealed, the man starts pressuring the woman to convert her religion and give up her religious identity. In both situations, there is application of force by the perpetrator, including the denial of the woman’s religious rights. Some of the means by which the woman is forced/pressured to convert include force-feeding beef, being forced to read the Kalma, being forced to wear a hijab, forced to undergo Halala, etc. There are several instances where, after marriage, the woman voluntarily converts to Islam. Such cases are often argued to be a result of religious brainwashing, however, for the purpose of documenting religiously motivated hate crimes, in the absence of the victim complaining of forced conversion, such cases do not form a part of the database. In this case, a Hindu woman was lured into a relationship and sexually exploited by a Muslim man who pretended to be Hindu. This demonstrates clear bias and malicious intent towards the victim’s religion. By concealing his true identity, the Muslim perpetrator exploited her trust and targeted her under false pretences, indicating a premeditated intent to manipulate her based on her religious background. The tactic of adopting a false Hindu identity to manipulate and ensnare Hindu individuals is not merely an act of personal betrayal but can also be interpreted as an expression of disregard for Hinduism and its customs, reflecting deeper animosity towards Hindus and their beliefs. Thereafter, he kidnapped her and forced her to marry him. While some may argue that this instance does not explicitly mention a religious conversion angle. However, the fact that the perpetrator faked his identity and deceived the Hindu woman, exploited her sexually, and held her hostage suggests an underlying agenda of religious conversion through marriage. It is well known that under Islamic laws, a Muslim man can only marry a non-Muslim woman if she converts to Islam. The use of force and coercion to marry a Hindu woman demonstrates that the perpetrator must have also pressured the victim to convert to Islam. Such instances not only threaten the individual autonomy of Hindu women but also send a message of intimidation to the broader Hindu community, fostering a climate of fear regarding their safety. These cases illustrate deep-seated religious animosity, as the perpetrator sought to strip the woman of her religious identity and force her into marriage. This type of exploitation, particularly when it involves coercion, threats, and religious deception, highlights a profound disrespect for the victim's faith and autonomy. It is a deliberate and calculated attempt to exert control over her, using religion as a tool of manipulation and domination. Such actions are rooted in religious intolerance and are clear manifestations of religiously motivated hate. Disclaimer: Media reports do not specify exactly when the victim’s ordeal began, with no precise date or month provided. For documentation purposes, the nearest mentioned date of the crime—25th May 2025, when the FIR was filed—has been used.