Hindu girl deceived, abused, sexually exploited and pressured for conversion by Christian man faking Hindu identity

Case ID : d327a83 | Location : Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Sat, 25 February, 2017

Case ID : d327a83

Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

25 February, 2017

Hindu girl deceived, abused, sexually exploited and pressured for conversion by Christian man faking Hindu identity

Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes

Man pretends to be Hindu

Name Changed

Brainwashed and/or groomed

Rape and sexual assault/harassment

Forced conversion before marriage

Predatory Proselytisation

Harassment, threats, coercion for conversion

Case Summary

In Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, a Hindu girl was deceived, abused, sexually exploited and pressured for religious conversion by a Christian man named Abhishek Claudius alias Ronnie, who pretended to be a Hindu. According to reports, the victim was a resident of Juhi Baradevi and was employed at a private school in the Gwaltoli area. She first came into contact with the accused, Abhishek, in 2017 at music events where he performed as a guitarist. Subsequently, she met him at several events and in 2023, she began talking to Abhishek. As their interactions gradually increased, the accused introduced himself as Abhishek Singh, presenting himself as a Hindu and belonging to the Thakur community. During this time, he sexually exploited her under the false promise of marriage. In May 2025, she discovered that she was one month pregnant and sought to formalise the relationship through marriage. At that stage, he disclosed that his real name was Abhishek Claudius and that he was a Christian. He told her that if she wished to marry him, she would have to convert to Christianity. He forced her to undergo an abortion, and when she resisted, he threatened her with violence and kicked her in the stomach. She was subsequently administered medicines, which resulted in the abortion of the foetus. The victim further stated that she was confined inside the accused’s residence in Chunniganj and was threatened with the circulation of her obscene videos to defame her and her family. Members of his family, including his parents and siblings, were named in the report for abusing and assaulting her during this period. In her complaint, she revealed that Abhishek’s father, Akhilesh, mother Rita, sisters Neha and Ruchi, brother Sunny, sister-in-law, nephew Sam and close associate Monu collectively abused, assaulted and intimidated her. She stated that jewellery items and cash were taken from her and that approximately one lakh rupees was extracted through online transfers and cash under intimidation. On 26 February 2026, she contacted the women’s helpline number 1090 following a beating, but no immediate action followed. Subsequently, after again being assaulted by the accused in early March, she approached the police station and submitted a written complaint. Based on her statement, the police registered a case under sections relating to rape on the pretext of marriage, criminal intimidation, assault, forced abortion and provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Act. The accused was taken into custody, and the police stated that further action would proceed following medical examination and recording of her statement before the court.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. The subcategory selected is- Man pretends to be Hindu. The tertiary categories selected are- Name Changed. 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 categories is- Rape and 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 sub-category selected is - Forced conversion before marriage. In such cases, a non-Hindu man is in a relationship with a Hindu woman when the pressure to convert her religion begins to manifest. 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, however, at some point during the relationship, the non-Hindu man starts to force the victim to convert her religion and give up her Hindu religious identity. 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 the situations, the methods used to force the victim to convert her religion often revolve around force-feeding beef, forcing her to wear hijab, forcing her to read the Kalma or even pressurizing the victim to do ‘Nikah’, which is marriage under Islamic law, with a prerequisite being conversion to Islam. Cases where a Hindu woman consensually converts to Islam in a relationship will be left out of the hate crime database, even though it could be argued in several cases that the conversion was a result of religious brainwashing. Another primary category selected is- Predatory Proselytisation. The subcategory selected 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. This case constituted a clear instance of a religiously motivated hate crime, as a Hindu girl was deceived, abused, sexually exploited and pressured for religious conversion by the Christian accused, faking Hindu identity. The pattern of crime was not incidental or purely interpersonal, but rooted in hostility towards her Hindu background and aimed at subordinating and erasing her faith through force and intimidation. Firstly, the accused deliberately concealed his religious identity to initiate and sustain a relationship with a Hindu girl. 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 was 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 accused sexually exploited the victim under the false pretext of marriage, while claiming he was a Hindu. This represents a serious case of religiously motivated sexual violence against a Hindu woman due to her Hindu identity. Here, the sexual violence against her was not for sexual gratification but to humiliate and violate a Hindu woman because of her religious identity. Such targeting based on the victim's faith and subsequent sexual exploitation were all hallmarks of a religiously motivated crime. Thirdly, once the pregnancy occurred and marriage was demanded, the accused disclosed his actual identity and made conversion a precondition for marriage. The shift from concealment to conditional acceptance, contingent upon abandoning her Hindu faith, underscores the communal nature of the whole crime. The demand that she convert in order to regularise the relationship reflected coercive pressure directed specifically at her religious identity. In this context, the conversion demand cannot be viewed as a neutral interfaith disagreement but as leverage exercised after deception and sexual exploitation. Pressuring a Hindu individual 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. Fourth, the confinement, physical assault, forced abortion and threats to circulate obscene material compounded the coercion. The abuse took place in an environment where conversion had already been imposed as a condition for marriage. When violence, intimidation and social blackmail are combined with religious pressure, the cumulative effect is one of domination directed not only at the individual but at her identity framework, including her faith. Often in such cases, sexual violence, abuse and violence serve a dual purpose: physical subjugation and religious humiliation. The intention was to break the victim down, emotionally, physically, and spiritually, so that she could be converted. This was not random violence; it was systematic, targeted, and rooted in religious animosity. 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. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records the date of the incident based on when the crime occurred. The media reports published this case on 2 March 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 2017, and on 26 February 2026, she contacted the women’s helpline number after she was assaulted. Considering these two pieces of information, we are using an indicative date of 26 February 2017 as the date of the incident. This date is used for documentation purposes only and represents the estimated beginning of her ordeal. Disclaimer: The perpetrator count in this case has been recorded as 9, based strictly on the names mentioned in the victim’s complaint and media reports available at the time of documentation. The individuals involved are: Abhishek Claudius alias Ronnie (main accused), his father Akhilesh, mother Rita, sisters Neha and Ruchi, brother Sunny, sister-in-law (name not specified), nephew Sam, and close associate Monu.