Hindu woman and her minor daughters forcibly converted to Islam, pressured to eat meat by Muslim man posing as Hindu
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India 
7 February, 2016
Case Summary
In Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, a Hindu woman was deceived, sexually exploited and forcibly converted to Islam by a Muslim man named Mohammad Asif, who pretended to be Hindu. He also targeted the victim's three minor daughters for conversion. According to reports, the victim, who was a practising Hindu and a resident of Kannauj, came into contact with the accused, Mohammad Asif, about 10 years ago, in 2016. During this time, the accused introduced himself as a Hindu man named Ritesh Kumar Maurya. The accused lured her into a relationship and eventually married her at an Arya Samaj Temple in Purania, as per Hindu customs. The victim stated that everything went well for the first two years. The accused lived with her under the false Hindu identity, accompanied her to temples, performed pujas, and wore Hindu religious markers, during which time their first daughter was born. After the child’s birth, he disclosed his real identity as Mohammad Asif and that he was a Muslim. He then took her to his native district of Hardoi, where he and his family began coercing the victim to convert to Islam. They threatened to throw her out of the house if she refused. Under duress, she was forced to agree. She further stated that the accused changed her Hindu name to a Muslim one, and later imposed Muslim names on her three children. She was forced to follow Islamic religious practices, pressured to eat meat against her beliefs, and subjected to sustained mental, physical, and sexual abuse, including unnatural sexual acts. Even her brother-in-law attempted to rape her. After returning to Lucknow, she gave birth to two more daughters, after which Asif abandoned her and began living with another woman, while his family took away her two elder daughters along with a car and motorcycle purchased with her father’s money. She repeatedly approached Madheganj, Saadatganj, and Thakurganj police stations, but no action was taken initially, prompting her to release a video appeal seeking intervention. After the video went viral, the police registered a case against the accused and arrested him. They also stated that the couple had been married for nearly ten years with three children, and that the woman had also initiated maintenance proceedings in court, with the matter remaining under investigation by the Lucknow police administration.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of - Crimes against women in relationships or other sexual crimes. Within it, the sub-category selected is - Man pretends to be Hindu, with the tertiary category being - Name changed, Wears symbols of Hinduism, and Marries as per Hindu rituals. 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 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 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 is - Assault or threat upon refusal to convert. When Hindu women are in a relationship with non-Hindu men, there are cases where the woman faces threats or assault after she refuses to convert and change her religious identity owing to pressure/force by the non-Hindu man. 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 pressurizing the Hindu woman to convert to Islam and upon her refusal, assaults or threatens the victim. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. Cases where the Hindu woman converts to Islam and does not file a complaint about the force or threat, are not considered a part of the hate tracker, even though, it may be argued that the woman was brainwashed or threatened to convert to Islam. The other sub-category selected is - Brainwashed and/or groomed, with the tertiary category being - Rape and sexual assault and Conversion of minor. 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. Another primary category selected is- Predatory Proselytisation. The subcategory selected is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. The tertiary category selected 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. This case represents a clear instance of a religiously motivated hate crime as a Hindu woman was deceived, sexually exploited, and forcibly converted to Islam by Mohammad Asif, a Muslim man who posed as a Hindu. The accused even force-fed her meat to desecrate her faith and imposed Islam on her three minor daughters. Firstly, the perpetrator deliberately concealed his religious identity to initiate and sustain a relationship with a Hindu woman. This itself is a clear manifestation of bias and malicious intent towards the victim's religion. By concealing his true identity, he exploited her trust, targeting her under false pretences. This indicates a premeditated intent to manipulate her based on her religious background. In cases like these, the tactic of adopting a false Hindu identity to manipulate and "ensnare" a Hindu individual is not just an act of personal betrayal but can also be interpreted as an expression of disdain or disregard for Hinduism and its customs that reflects a deeper animosity towards Hindus and their beliefs. In such instances, identity concealment is not just a deceptive tactic for personal reasons but a calculated strategy rooted in religious profiling and targeting. The accused knew that the victim, being Hindu, would likely refuse his advances if she knew his real identity, and he circumvented this by lying, which directly pointed to a religiously driven intent. Secondly, the Muslim accused married the Hindu woman inside the Arya Samaj Temple, according to Hindu customs, to further mislead her into believing that he was a Hindu. The choice to marry her in a temple, a sacred space for Hindus, further highlights the malicious intent behind the act. This was a significant violation of the woman’s religious beliefs, as it exploits her faith and religious practices to entrap her in a marriage founded on lies. The use of a temple marriage serves to legitimise the union in the eyes of the woman and her community, making the deception all the more egregious. This was also the reason that for nearly two years, the accused accompanied his wife to temples, performed pujas, and wore Hindu religious markers. In reality, all this was done to affirm his fake Hindu identity, manipulate the victim, and prolong her exploitation, making it a religiously motivated crime. Thirdly, the accused sexually exploited the victim and impregnated her while continuing to conceal his religious identity, using the resulting pregnancy as a means of emotional manipulation to further entrench her vulnerability and pressure her towards religious conversion. This was not an isolated or opportunistic act of sexual abuse, but a targeted and sustained exploitation rooted in religious deception. By singling out a Hindu woman, maintaining a false Hindu identity, and leveraging pregnancy to weaken her ability to resist coercion, the accused demonstrated a pattern of abuse driven by religious prejudice and subversive intent. The use of intimacy, deception, and forced dependency as tools of control underscored the religiously motivated nature of the crime. Fourth, after the birth of the child, the accused, along with his family, began pressuring 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 forced religious conversion, indicate a clear religious motive. Pressuring a Hindu individual to discard her religious faith and embrace another is 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. Fifth, when the victim refused to convert, she was threatened with being thrown out of the house, due to which she was forced to convert under duress. Here, threats of violence were used as a strategic tool of terror aimed at forcing religious conversion. The threats were directly tied to her refusal to give up her Hindu faith, constituting a clear case of religiously motivated hate crime. Sixth, the victim was forcibly converted to Islam and her name was changed to a Muslim name. This was essentially a forced erasure of her previous Hindu identity. She was also force-fed meat, which again was not just about food; it was a direct step toward conversion. This wasn't random but deliberate. Forcing a Hindu to eat meat, often beef in such cases, is a direct assault on Hindu faith and identity. Compelling a Hindu to consume meat is not a neutral act; it is a deliberate act of humiliation and spiritual violation. It is used as a tool of religious domination intended to break the victim’s connection to their faith. Moreover, Hindu dharma prescribes dietary disciplines as a part of spiritual practice. Many Hindus follow a vegetarian diet as a sacred vow. Forcing a Hindu to consume meat violates not just personal conscience but deeply held dharma vows, and such coercion constitutes an assault on religious freedom and dignity. Seventh, the accused also attempted to convert the three minor children to Islam, without their mother's consent. Since the three children were minors, 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, and the Muslim perpetrator purposely targeted and exploited this vulnerability by giving them Muslim names. Since this case exemplifies the use of coercion and manipulation to achieve religious conversion, it is a blatant act of religious hate. Eight, the accused also abandoned her and began living with another woman. This further proves that the accused was never interested in the Hindu victim per se, but he solely aimed to convert her to Islam. The moment she stood firm in her faith and resisted, the relationship ended. This sequence reinforces the religious nature of the relationship, where conversion was a prerequisite for continuity. Her Hindu identity became the very reason for rejection, an act rooted in religious hatred. 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. 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. Therefore, it is being added to the hate crime database of the tracker. Disclaimer: It is important to clarify that none of the media sources covering this case have specified the exact date when the victim's ordeal began, though it is mentioned that she came into contact with the accused in 2016. Thus, to document this case, we have used an indicative date, 8 February 2016, as a placeholder to represent the beginning of her suffering. At the same time, media coverage of the incident emerged on 8 February 2026. The Hinduphobia Tracker records the incident based on when the victim’s ordeal began, not when it was reported.
Victim Details
Total Victim
4
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 4
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 4
Age Group
- Minor 3
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
