Hindu minor girl sexually exploited and forced into planned nikah by Muslim man in Bhiwandi
Bhiwandi, Maharashtra, India 
12 March, 2026
Case Summary
A Hindu minor girl from Dombivli in Maharashtra was subjected to prolonged sexual exploitation and coercion by Armaan Sheikh, a Muslim man from Bhiwandi, who maintained contact with her through social media and exploited her vulnerability for approximately two years. The Hindu girl was drawn into a relationship when she was underage and was later pressured and blackmailed into marrying the Muslim man after she turned eighteen. On 6 March in Bhiwandi, Thane district, the Hindu victim travelled to the city where a Nikah, an Islamic marriage ceremony, had been arranged for her. The ceremony was halted after the girl’s family learned of the situation and intervened. The Hindu minor girl from Dombivli first came into contact with Armaan Sheikh, a Muslim youth who worked as a tailor in Bhiwandi, through social media in 2024. At the time, the Hindu victim was under eighteen, while the Muslim man was eighteen years old. Over the following period of nearly two years, the Muslim perpetrator developed a relationship with the Hindu minor girl and used that connection to sexually exploit her. The Muslim man continued this conduct while the victim remained a minor, maintaining control over the relationship and exploiting her vulnerability during her formative years. After the Hindu girl turned eighteen, approximately one month before the incident, the Muslim perpetrator began exerting intense pressure on her to marry him. The Muslim man used blackmail and repeated intimidation to force the Hindu victim to agree to the marriage. On 6 March, the victim travelled from Dombivli to Bhiwandi, where the perpetrator had organised a Nikah. The Muslim man had arranged witnesses and a Qazi, an Islamic cleric authorised to conduct marriage ceremonies, in preparation for the event. Members of a Hindu organisation reached the venue after being informed by the girl’s family about the situation. They intervened at the location where the Nikah was to take place and halted the proceedings before the marriage ceremony could be completed. The Hindu victim was removed from the venue and taken to the local police station so she could report the exploitation and coercion she had experienced. Following the intervention at the marriage venue, the Hindu victim submitted a written complaint to the police detailing the sexual exploitation and coercion she had endured over the preceding two years. Authorities registered a criminal case against Armaan Sheikh under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act—the Indian law enacted to protect minors from sexual abuse—along with sections of the Indian Penal Code relating to rape and criminal intimidation. The police apprehended Armaan Sheikh in connection with the case. The matter was initially brought to the Bhiwandi Shantinagar police station and later transferred to the Vishnunagar police station in Dombivli, as the Hindu victim resided in 그 jurisdiction. Police proceedings were initiated based on the victim’s complaint, and the investigation remained ongoing.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The primary category for this case is "Predatory Proselytisation". The sub-category for this case is Harassments, 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. Another sub-category for this case is "Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination". The tertiary categories here are "Conversion of minor" and "Rape and sexual assault/harassment". 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. Another primary category is "Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes" The sub-category 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. Another sub-category for this case is " Forced conversion before marriage". The tertiary category here is "Forced to do Nikah". 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 sub-category for this case is "Brainwashed and/or groomed". The tertiary categories here are "Conversion of minor" and "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. This case constituted a religiously motivated hate crime because a Hindu minor girl was deliberately targeted, sexually exploited during her childhood, and subsequently coerced into a religious marriage ceremony organised under Islamic customs. The Muslim perpetrator initiated contact with the Hindu victim when she was under eighteen and maintained the relationship for approximately two years, during which he sexually exploited her. After the Hindu victim turned eighteen, the Muslim man intensified the pressure and used blackmail to compel her to participate in a Nikah, an Islamic marriage ceremony, that had already been arranged with a Qazi and witnesses in Bhiwandi. The sequence of exploitation, coercion, and preparation for a religious marriage demonstrated a pattern in which a vulnerable Hindu girl was targeted and pressured into assimilation into the perpetrator’s religious framework. The prolonged duration of the relationship indicated that the Muslim perpetrator gradually established influence and control over the Hindu minor girl during a vulnerable stage of her life. Maintaining a relationship with a Hindu minor girl for an extended period and exploiting her sexually during her childhood reflected a grooming pattern in which the perpetrator cultivated dependence and familiarity before escalating the pressure for marriage once the Hindu victim reached adulthood. The exploitation of a Hindu minor girl through such sustained interaction demonstrated the predatory targeting of a vulnerable Hindu victim. The case also demonstrated coercion and intimidation directed at forcing the Hindu victim to accept a marriage conducted under Islamic religious customs. After the Hindu girl turned eighteen, the Muslim perpetrator began exerting repeated pressure and used blackmail to compel her to agree to a Nikah ceremony. The Muslim man organised the ceremony in Bhiwandi in the presence of an Islamic cleric. The deliberate arrangement of a religious marriage ceremony indicated that the Hindu victim was being pushed into a religiously governed marital structure that would place her within the religious framework of the perpetrator. The use of blackmail and pressure against the Hindu victim further demonstrated coercive conduct aimed at forcing compliance. The Hindu victim travelled to Bhiwandi for the ceremony only after sustained pressure and intimidation from the Muslim perpetrator. The fact that the ceremony had been fully arranged before the Hindu victim arrived demonstrated that the Muslim perpetrator had already taken concrete steps to formalise the marriage without ensuring the Hindu victim’s free and voluntary consent. The preparation of the venue, the presence of witnesses, and the arrangement of a Qazi indicated that the perpetrator had organised a structured religious ceremony intended to bind the Hindu woman into a marital relationship governed by Islamic customs. This preparation, combined with the sustained blackmail and pressure exerted on the Hindu victim, demonstrated that the Hindu woman was being compelled towards participation in a religiously defined marriage through coercive means rather than through voluntary choice. The prolonged sexual exploitation of the Hindu minor girl further constituted severe sexual violence directed at a vulnerable Hindu victim. The relationship began when the Hindu victim was under eighteen, meaning that the sexual relationship occurred during her childhood and fell within the scope of offences addressed by the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act—legislation enacted to protect minors from sexual abuse. By maintaining a sexual relationship with the Hindu minor girl over an extended period and then escalating the pressure to marry her once she reached adulthood, the Muslim perpetrator used sexual exploitation as a mechanism to maintain control and influence over the Hindu victim. The case also reflected an effort to draw the Hindu girl into a religious conversion pathway through marriage. A Nikah is a marriage conducted under Islamic law and religious practice, and such marriages typically require the bride to accept the religious framework governing the union. By arranging a Nikah ceremony and pressuring the Hindu victim to participate in it through intimidation and blackmail, the Muslim perpetrator attempted to place the Hindu woman within a religious marital structure rooted in Islamic customs. The coercive pressure placed on the Hindu victim to participate in this ceremony indicated an effort to compel the Hindu woman towards religious assimilation through marriage rather than allowing her to make a free and informed choice. The incident also carried broader implications for the security and autonomy of Hindu girls, particularly minors who are vulnerable to exploitation through social media contact and prolonged manipulation. The targeting of a Hindu minor girl, followed by sexual exploitation during her childhood and subsequent coercion into a religious marriage arrangement, demonstrated how vulnerable Hindu victims were drawn into exploitative relationships that culminated in pressure to enter a religiously defined marital structure. Such cases created fear and insecurity among Hindu families whose daughters faced similar vulnerabilities when approached and manipulated over extended periods. Given that this case met the parameters of a religiously motivated hate crime, it was added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia tracker. Disclaimer: The exact date on which the exploitation of the Hindu minor girl began is not specified in the available sources. The sources confirm that the nikah ceremony arranged by the Muslim perpetrator took place on 6 March, which is the day the Hindu victim travelled to Bhiwandi, and the incident came to light. However, the relationship between the Hindu victim and the Muslim perpetrator began in 2024 while the Hindu girl was still a minor, and the precise start date of the victim’s ordeal is not documented. For the purposes of documentation in the Hinduphobia Tracker, 6 March 2024 has been recorded as the indicative incident date because it marks the confirmed day on which the coercive marriage arrangement occurred and the exploitation became publicly known. This date is used for record-keeping purposes only.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 1
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 1
Age Group
- Minor 1
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
