Hindu woman, along with her minor daughters, murdered for refusing to convert to Islam by her Muslim husband
Murshidabad, West Bengal, India 
28 January, 2026
Case Summary
In the Dayanagar–Kuthibari Ambagan area in Murshidabad, West Bengal, a Hindu woman, along with her two minor daughters, was brutally murdered for refusing to convert to Islam by her Muslim husband, Manik Bepari. According to reports, Manik Bepari, a fruit seller from the Nadia district, West Bengal, had been residing in Bhagwangola for several years in a rented house with his Hindu wife, Dola Devi, and their two minor daughters. Local residents noticed a strong foul smell emanating from their house on the morning of January 29, 2026, and alerted the police after receiving no response. Police forcibly entered the premises and found the bodies of Dola Devi and the two daughters lying on the floor, covered with blankets, each bearing sharp weapon injuries to the neck, while Manik Bepari was found hanging from a ceiling fan in the same room. The murder triggered widespread concern in the locality. Preliminary investigation revealed that Manik Bepari had recently converted to Islam, which had led to persistent marital discord, as he was continuously pressuring his wife and children to convert to Islam. The wife refused to change her religion, and the daughters supported their mother, resulting in sustained domestic conflict. There were no indications of financial hardship, as Manik’s fruit business near the Swapnagarh crossing had been functioning well. Subsequently, Manik killed his wife and two daughters, after which he hanged himself. All four bodies were sent to Lalbagh Subdistrict Hospital for post-mortem examination, and the police initiated a detailed investigation to ascertain the sequence of events and the circumstances that culminated in the deaths.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of - Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. Within it, the sub-category selected here 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 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 - Murder upon refusal to convert. When Hindu women are in a relationship with non-Hindu men, there are cases where the woman is forced to convert her religion and upon her refusal to do so, the non-Hindu partner murders the victim. Such relationships may be consensual with the religious identity of the non-Hindu man known to the victim. Somewhere along the relationship, the non-Hindu man starts pressuring the Hindu woman to convert. In some of these cases, the association could be non-consensual as well or, the religious identity of the non-Muslim man could be previously unknown to the Hindu victim. In such cases, the Hindu woman is first pressurized to change her religion by the non-Hindu man. The pressure could involve threats and/or violence. The trigger to murdering the woman in these cases is her refusal to comply and change her religion under threat and/or force. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. The second primary category selected here is - Predatory Proselytisation. Within it, the sub-category selected here 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. The other sub-category selected here is - Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. Within it, the sub-category selected here is - Conversion of minor. Religious brainwashing essentially means the often subtle and forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up their religious beliefs to accept contrasting regimented ideas. Religious grooming or brainwashing also involves propaganda and manipulation. It involves the systematic effort, driven by religious malice and indoctrination, to persuade “non-believers’ to accept allegiance, command, or doctrine to and of a contrasting faith. Cases of such grooming or brainwashing are far more nuanced than direct threats, coercion, inducement and violence. In such cases, it is often seen that there is repeated, subtle and continual manipulation of the victim to induce disaffection towards their own faith and acceptance of the contrasting faith of the perpetrator. While subtle indoctrination is widely acknowledged as predatory, an element which is often understated in such conversions or the attempts of such conversion is the role of loyalty and trust which might develop between the perpetrator and the victim. Fiduciary relationships are often abused to affect such religious conversion. For example, an educator transmitting religious doctrine of a competing faith to a Hindu student. The Hindu student is likely to accept what the teacher is transmitting owing to existence of the fiduciary relationship. The exploitation of the fiduciary relationship to religiously indoctrinate victims would also be included in this category. Since the underlying animosity towards the victim’s faith forms the basis of predatory proselytization, such cases are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. The other sub-category under Predatory Proselytisation is- Murdered for refusing 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 murder 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 murder then is another hate crime driven by the victim’s refusal to abandon his professed faith, Hinduism, and convert to the religion of the non-Hindu perpetrator. Since the victim’s faith is at the heart of the pressure to convert and the ensuing murder of the victim, such cases are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. The third primary category selected is- Attack resulting in death. Within it, the sub-category selected is - Attacked for refusal to convert. When pressure, threats, or coercion are employed upon a Hindu victim to convert to another religion, in several cases the victim refuses to succumb. Once the victim resists, the perpetrator proceeds to attack the victim due to this refusal to convert. In such instances, the pressure, intimidation, and violence are clearly driven by hostility toward the victim’s Hindu faith. The attack then becomes an expression of that same hate, motivated by the victim’s refusal to abandon Hinduism and embrace the religion of the non-Hindu perpetrator. Since the victim’s faith is central to both the coercion and the subsequent attack, such cases are categorised as religiously motivated hate crimes. This case has been added to the tracker because a Hindu woman, along with her two daughters, was brutally murdered by her Muslim husband, Manik Bepari, for refusing to convert. This case represents a clear religious dimension that transformed a domestic conflict into an incident rooted in religion-based hostility and coercive pressure. Firstly, after converting to Islam, Manik Bepari pressured his wife and two daughters to convert to Islam. Pressuring a Hindu individual to discard his religious faith and embrace another is a direct attack on his religious identity and dignity. It is not a matter of personal choice; it is coercion rooted in hostility towards the victim's Hindu identity. Such an attempt reflects religious animosity because the act is not simply about personal differences but about erasing the victim’s Hindu faith, making it a religiously motivated crime. Secondly, the Hindu wife and minor daughters' refusal to convert to Islam provoked lethal violence against them, resulting in their eventual death. The violence occurred directly as a consequence of their refusal to abandon Hinduism, indicating that the violence functioned as punishment for resisting conversion. It was a deliberate attempt to punish and intimidate the victim for adhering to his religion and not converting. Committing such brutal violence just for refusing conversion showcases the lengths the accused was willing to go to enforce conversions, making it a religiously motivated offence. Thirdly, it is further important to note here that the two daughters were minors, which means the element of consent and genuine change of conscience was missing ab initio. Minors, due to their young age and lack of maturity, are particularly vulnerable to manipulation and coercion. They may not have the ability to fully understand the implications of converting to another religion. Since this case exemplifies the use of coercion and manipulation to achieve religious conversion, it is a blatant act of religious hate. 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. The act of killing family members who resisted the abandonment of their Hindu identity illustrated an extreme manifestation of intolerance towards Hindu religious identity. Since such predatory actions stem from doctrinal animosity towards the Hindu faith and its adherents, this case is being documented as a religiously motivated hate crime. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incidents based on when an event occurred or when the victim's ordeal began. It is important to clarify that none of the media sources covering this case has specified the exact date when the accused began pressuring the victims to convert. Therefore, for documentation purposes, we have recorded the date based on when their bodies were discovered, 29 January 2026.
Victim Details
Total Victim
3
Deceased
3
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 3
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 3
Age Group
- Minor 2
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Complaint registered
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
