Hindu woman deceived into marriage by Muslim man posing as Hindu; wore tilak and kalava to gain her trust

Case ID : e274cc3 | Location : Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Wed, 19 July, 2017

Case ID : e274cc3

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

19 July, 2017

Hindu woman deceived into marriage by Muslim man posing as Hindu; wore tilak and kalava to gain her trust

Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes

Man pretends to be Hindu

Name Changed

Marries as per Hindu rituals

Wears symbols of Hinduism

Case Summary

In Rahimabad, Lucknow, a Hindu woman was deceived into marriage and abandoned by a Muslim man named Kamrul Haq, who had assumed a false Hindu identity. According to reports, the Hindu girl, a social worker, got acquainted with the accused in 2017 over a phone call asking for some information related to pension. He started calling her repeatedly, expressing his desire to meet her. The accused even started pressuring the girl to meet him. The accused introduced himself as a Hindu man named Vivek Kumar Rawat, resident of Dahliya village, Hardoi, and he works in a travel agency. Despite her initial refusal to meet, he began visiting her, and after 6 months, he proposed for marriage. Even her family members didn't raise any objection, believing that the man was Hindu. The couple got married at an Arya Samaj Mandir as per Hindu rituals. The accused pretended to be a devout Hindu - wore kalava (sacred thread), put a Tilak on his forehead, and performed pooja - thereby preventing any suspicion regarding his real identity. After their marriage, the couple lived together in a rented house in Lucknow for two years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they shifted to the women’s village in Rahimabad, where they stayed together for another four years. Throughout this period, the woman repeatedly requested him to take her to his parents' house, but he always made excuses and avoided taking her there. Around two and a half years ago, he left the girl, saying that he was going to Delhi for a job due to their financial troubles. However, after leaving for Delhi, he essentially abandoned the Hindu girl, cutting off all contact. After repeatedly trying to contact him and failing, the Hindu girl decided to visit the accused's stated hometown on 9 July 2025. There, she discovered that no person named Vivek Kumar Rawat lived in Dahliya village. Upon further inquiry, she found out that her husband's real name was Kamrul Haq and that he was a Muslim. It was also revealed that he was already married and had children and that he was already married with children. When she confronted Kamrul’s family about the deception, they physically assaulted her. She somehow managed to escape and locked herself in a bathroom, after which she contacted the police. The police from Pihani reached the spot and brought both parties to the police station, but declined to pursue the matter, citing a jurisdictional issue. The woman then returned to Lucknow and filed a formal complaint at Rahimabad police station. As of the date of writing this report, a case was registered by the police, and a search operation was underway to nab the accused.

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 being: - Name changed, Marries as per Hindu rituals and Wears symbols of Hinduism. 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 girl was deceived into marriage and abandoned 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 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. The deliberate use of Hindu religious symbols to gain trust and misrepresent one’s identity reflects not only calculated deceit but also an underlying bias against the victim’s faith. By exploiting the sanctity of Hindu symbols to further his personal agenda, the accused demonstrated a deliberate disrespect for Hinduism. The Kalava and Tilak hold deep spiritual significance within Hinduism, and so does the temple. Using them as tools of deception not only violates the trust placed in religious identity but also amounts to a desecration of sacred symbols. It reflects religious insensitivity and shows disregard for Hindu beliefs and practices, which highlights the religious dimension of the crime. He wore symbols of Hinduism and deliberately married her in a Hindu temple to lend legitimacy to his lie. This deception reflects a larger pattern where Hindu females are specifically singled out using false identities, often with coercion or religious conversion in mind. Such targeted victimisation based on religion not only demonstrates a fundamental disregard for Hinduism but also exposes a deeper animosity toward Hindus and their beliefs. This is why this case has been included in the tracker, as it exemplifies a clear instance of religiously motivated crime. Disclaimer: Media reports state that the victim got acquainted with the accused in 2017, though no exact date or month is mentioned. Thus, to document this case, we have used an indicative date—July 20, 2017—as a placeholder to represent the beginning of her suffering. While media coverage of the incident emerged on July 20, 2025, the Hinduphobia Tracker records the incident based on when the victim’s ordeal began, not when it was reported.