Hindu woman deceived and financially defrauded by Muslim man posing as Hindu in Barabanki

Case ID : e274bdf | Location : Bara Banki, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Mon, 7 July, 2025

Case ID : e274bdf

Bara Banki, Uttar Pradesh, India

7 July, 2025

Hindu woman deceived and financially defrauded by Muslim man posing as Hindu in Barabanki

Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes

Man pretends to be Hindu

Name Changed

Case Summary

In the Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh, a Hindu woman was deceived and financially exploited by a Muslim man named Zeeshan, who concealed his identity and posed as a Hindu. The victim became acquainted with Zeeshan about a year ago, during which he introduced himself as a Hindu man named Samar Singh. After a brief period of lost contact, they resumed communication on April 11, 2025. Zeeshan convinced her to meet him in Lucknow, gradually luring her into a relationship under false pretences. He engaged in physical relations with her by falsely promising marriage, while concealing his real identity. Zeeshan also financially drained the woman by extorting approximately ₹1.5 lakh from her in instalments. He further deceived her with the help of his sister, Shivli Khan, and brother-in-law, Nadeem Qureshi—both of whom also posed as Hindus to gain the victim’s trust. The trio swindled the victim’s gold jewellery through manipulation and fraud. When the woman realised the extent of the deception and exploitation, she approached the police and filed a complaint on July 8, 2025. During the investigation, authorities uncovered that the accused’s real name was Zeeshan and that he was a Muslim. All three accused—Zeeshan, Shivli Khan, and Nadeem Qureshi—were arrested. A case was registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for fraud, cheating, criminal conspiracy, and also under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act. Police confirmed that a chargesheet will be filed soon and that judicial proceedings will advance promptly.

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 is: - Man pretends to be Hindu, with the tertiary category being: - 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. This case has been added to the tracker because a Hindu woman was lured into a relationship by a Muslim man, who pretended to be Hindu. 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. She was also financially exploited by the accused and his family members, who all pretended to be Hindus. This indicates that the deceit was not isolated but coordinated, and that the targeting of the Hindu woman stemmed from religious hatred. The targeting of the victim was thus not random but specifically rooted in her religious identity, making the case one of religiously motivated hate crime. Disclaimer: It is important to clarify that the report does not specify the exact date when the woman’s ordeal began. But it is reported that the victim filed a police complaint on 8th July 2025. Therefore, for documentation purposes, we are considering it as the incident date.