Hindu woman deceived into marriage, forcibly converted to Islam and abandoned by Muslim man in Bengaluru

Case ID : d3273f9 | Location : Bengaluru, Karnataka, India | Date of Incident : Mon, 14 December, 2015

Case ID : d3273f9

Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

14 December, 2015

Hindu woman deceived into marriage, forcibly converted to Islam and abandoned by Muslim man in Bengaluru

Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes

Forced conversion after marriage

Blackmailed to convert

Case Summary

In Bengaluru, Karnataka, a Hindu woman named Rita was deceived into a relationship and marriage by a Muslim man named Farvez alias Parvez. The victim was also subjected to forced religious conversion and later abandoned by the accused. According to reports, the victim was a resident of Devara Jeevanhalli, came into contact with the accused, Farvez, a resident of DJ Halli, in 2015 while she was pursuing her PUC/Bachelor of Arts at a private college. Farvez gradually lured Rita into a relationship by falsely assuring her that he would neither compel her to convert to Islam nor interfere with her Hindu religious identity. Rita’s family initially opposed the relationship and marriage due to concerns regarding interfaith unions, but Farvez convinced them that Rita would remain a Hindu after marriage. On the basis of these assurances, the marriage took place on 15 December 2019. However, after the marriage, Farvez subjected Rita to sustained pressure and threats of divorce, forcing her to convert to Islam against her will. He even changed her name to Sadia Tabassum, essentially a Muslim name. Following her conversion, he abandoned Rita, refused to take responsibility for her and the two children, and went on to marry another woman without legally divorcing her. When the victim confronted Farvez, he threatened her with talaq. Subsequently, the victim approached the DJ Halli police station with a complaint detailing forced conversion, cheating, cruelty, and abandonment, but no action was taken. Thereafter, she escalated the matter by submitting representations to the Director General of Police, the Inspector General of Police, and the Bengaluru Police Commissioner, seeking intervention and justice. Police authorities stated that the complaint remained under examination, with further action pending verification of facts.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This incident has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. Under this, the first sub-category selected is- Forced conversion after marriage. In such cases, a non-Hindu man marries a Hindu woman, and the force/pressure to convert to any Abrahamic faith, like 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 her religion 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 the 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 The other sub-category selected here is - Blackmailed to convert. When Hindu women are in a relationship with non-Hindu men, there are cases where the woman is blackmailed to convert her religion, owing to her religious identity of being a Hindu. Such relationships may be consensual with the religious identity of the non-Hindu man known to the victim, however, there could be cases where the relationship is not consensual and the non-Hindu man starts blackmailing a Hindu woman to convert her religion. In these cases, it is often seen that the Hindu woman is blackmailed with intimate photos and/or videos, threats of harm to her or her family, threats of violence etc. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. This case has been added to the tracker because the Hindu woman was deceived into a relationship and marriage, subjected to forced religious conversion, and later abandoned by the Muslim accused, Farvez. Although the accused did not conceal his religious identity, he deliberately assured the victim that her Hindu faith would not pose any obstacle to their relationship or marriage. However, immediately after marriage, the accused began pressuring and blackmailing her to convert to Islam. While the victim was an adult, the psychological grooming and deception involved, combined with the deliberate targeting of a Hindu woman and religious conversion, indicate a clear religious motive. The accused threatened the victim with divorce and used these threats to blackmail her into abandoning her Hindu faith. Pressuring a Hindu individual in such a way to discard her religious faith and embrace another was a direct attack on her religious identity and dignity. It was not a matter of personal choice; it was coercion rooted in hostility towards the victim's Hindu identity. Such an attempt reflects religious animosity because the act was not simply about personal differences but about erasing the victim’s Hindu faith, making it a religiously motivated crime. Furthermore, her name was also changed to Sadia Tabassum, essentially a Muslim name. This was done to essentially erase her connection to her past Hindu life. It was a symbolic assertion of the dominance of Islamic identity over the Hindu identity. Thereafter, the accused abandoned the Hindu victim for another woman, which further proves that he was never interested in a genuine relationship with her; instead, his only goal was religious conversion. This showcases the level of dehumanisation with which the accused viewed the victim, treating her not as a wife but as a mere target for forced conversion, making it a religiously motivated crime. Such actions stem from inherent hostility towards the victim's professed faith since Abrahamic faiths believe that any non-adherent to the faith is subject to being dehumanised till they convert. Such acts were not merely personal crimes; they were rooted in a desire to dominate and erase the religious identity of the victim. Such predatory actions stem from doctrinal animosity towards the Hindu faith and its adherents. Therefore, this case is being documented as a religiously motivated hate crime. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records the date of the incident based on when the crime occurred. The media reports published this case on 30 January 2026. However, the media reports do not specify the exact date of the beginning of the victim’s ordeal. The victim came in contact with the accused in 2015, and on 15 December 2019, the couple got married. Considering these two pieces of information, we are using an indicative date of 15 December 2015 as the date of the incident. This date is used for documentation purposes only and represents the estimated beginning of her ordeal.