Hindu woman deceived into relationship, sexually exploited, and blackmailed by Muslim man posing as Hindu

Case ID : e2748ce | Location : Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Sun, 31 December, 2017

Case ID : e2748ce

Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India

31 December, 2017

Hindu woman deceived into relationship, sexually exploited, and blackmailed by Muslim man posing as Hindu

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

Case Summary

In Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, a Hindu woman was lured into a relationship and sexually exploited by a Muslim man who posed as a Hindu to trap the victim. The accused then began blackmailing the victim using obscene photos and videos of her. The Muslim accused, named Faizan, trapped the Hindu woman by pretending to be ‘Akshay’ on Facebook. The woman, originally from Bahraich, became friends with Faizan on the platform. He enticed her into a relationship, sexually exploited her, and secretly captured obscene photos and videos of her. As per the victim’s video testimony, Faizan convinced her that he was a Hindu. When she discovered the truth about his identity in 2018, she distanced herself from him. After this, Faizan began blackmailing her by threatening to make her photos and videos public. The woman lodged a complaint against Faizan and his family at the Crossing Republic police station. Based on the complaint, Faizan was arrested and sent to jail; however, later Faizan was released on bail. The Hindu victim stated that during the court hearing, Faizan and his associates threatened her to withdraw the case. Faizan also pulled the victim’s dupatta in the court premises to intimidate her. Distressed by the pressure from the accused, Faizan, the victim met Ghaziabad Commissioner J Ravindra Gaud and appealed for justice. She also demanded strict action against the accused.

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. Within this, the tertiary category selected is- 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. Within this, the tertiary category selected 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 case in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, where a Hindu woman was deceived, sexually exploited, filmed, and blackmailed by a Muslim man posing as a Hindu, is a clear example of a hate crime targeting a Hindu woman based on her religious identity. This incident goes beyond individual criminality and enters the realm of hate crime due to the calculated use of religious deception, targeted exploitation, and subsequent threats, all of which specifically preyed upon the victim’s faith and community background. In this case, the religious motive of the crime is evident from the perpetrator’s deliberate concealment of his Muslim identity to deceive the Hindu victim. This act itself demonstrates clear bias and malicious intent towards the victim’s religion. By hiding his own religious identity, the Muslim perpetrator exploited the victim's trust and targeted her under false pretences, indicating a premeditated intent to manipulate her based on her religious identity. In such instances, the tactic of adopting a false Hindu identity to manipulate and ensnare a Hindu individual is not only an act of personal betrayal but an expression of disdain or disregard for Hinduism and its customs. This reflects a deeper animosity towards Hindus and their beliefs, which is why this case has been included here. Once the trust of the Hindu victim was established under false pretences, Faizan lured the woman into a relationship and sexually exploited her. He went further by taking obscene photographs and videos, using these as tools for blackmail. The victim’s ordeal did not end with the revelation of Faizan’s true identity; instead, the abuse escalated. When she discovered that Faizan was not Hindu but Muslim, she attempted to distance herself. Faizan responded by threatening to release the explicit content, thereby exerting further control over her life and choices. The psychological trauma inflicted on the victim was compounded by the religious betrayal. The use of religious disguise to facilitate sexual exploitation and blackmail is not merely a personal violation but also an attack on the victim’s religious identity and dignity. This pattern of abuse, where Muslim perpetrators target Hindu women by concealing their religious identity, has been documented in several cases. Such cases are marked by a recurring pattern: religious identity is deliberately hidden, trust is gained, exploitation follows, and threats or coercion are used to maintain control over the Hindu victim. Such actions are a result of deep-rooted hatred and disdain for Hindus and their faith. As the Hindu victim in this case was targeted because of her Hindu identity, therefore, it is being included in the hate crime database. Disclaimer: Media reports do not specify the exact date when the victim’s ordeal began. The earliest indication is that she discovered the accused’s true identity in 2018. Therefore, we are using an indicative date—1st January 2018—although the media reported the event on 18th June 2025. Hinduphobia Tracker records the date when the incident occurred, rather than when it was reported in the media.