Case Summary

In Bhamora village of Bareilly district, Uttar Pradesh, a 17-year-old Hindu girl named Minakshi was abducted and threatened by three Muslim men The incident occurred on 3 January 2026 when the victim had gone with her younger sister Madhu and her sister-in-law Khushi to the Bhamora village post office for Aadhaar-related work, where Khushi and Madhu stood in the queue while Minakshi waited outside. During this time, three Muslim men named Sohil Saifi, his father, Sabbir, and his brother, Wahid, arrived at the post office premises. Sohil, acting with the assistance of his father and brother, lured and forcibly took Minakshi away from the spot in front of her family members. When the victim's father, Nand Kishore, went to the house of Sabbir and Wahid to inquire about his daughter’s whereabouts, both men abused him, issued death threats, and told him that he would not get his daughter back. Following these events, Nand Kishore approached Bhamora police station and submitted a written complaint detailing the abduction and subsequent threats. On the basis of this complaint, the police registered an FIR on 3 January 2026 under the directions of Station House Officer Sunny Chaudhary, deployed three police teams to rescue the minor girl, and initiated legal proceedings against the named accused.

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Why it is Hate Crime ?

In this case, a 17-year-old Hindu girl was abducted and threatened by the Muslim accused, Minakshi. This could potentially be a crime motivated by religious profiling, as it has been observed that in many cases, Muslim perpetrators target Hindu minor girls due to inherent animosity towards Hindus. Hindu girls are very vulnerable to crimes like rape and sexual assault at the hands of Muslim men. Since the accused had intentions of marrying her, it indicates that the accused was already aware of the religious identity of the victim, further pointing towards religious profiling. However, it is also possible that the crime was one of opportunity, where the minor Hindu girl was simply accessible to the Muslim perpetrator. Meanwhile, it could also be argued that for a Muslim man, a Muslim girl would likely be more accessible than a Hindu girl. The fact that the perpetrator specifically targeted a Hindu girl could suggest religious bias. Moreover, the victim was a minor at the time of the incident, thus making any supposed "consent" given for a relationship or elopement from her side legally invalid under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. POCSO is a strict liability law, which means that the intention of the accused or the willingness of the minor is not taken into account when determining culpability. The underlying reason is that children are not considered mentally or emotionally developed enough to make mature decisions about relationships or elopement, which makes them highly vulnerable to manipulation and exploitation. Nevertheless, the case details currently provide no clear indication of religious motivation behind the crime. Furthermore, neither the victim nor her parents made any statements suggesting a religious motive behind the crime. For this reason, the case has been added to the 'Undecided' database. If further information emerges that points towards a religious motivation behind this crime, it would then be reclassified and included in the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker.