Minor Hindu girl abducted and forced to convert to Islam in Meerut; Muslim accused's family issued death threats and hurled casteist slurs at victim’s family
Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India 
22 July, 2025
Case Summary
In Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, a 16-year-old Hindu girl from the Lalkurti area was kidnapped by a Muslim man. She was threatened and forced to convert to Islam and marry her abductor. The accused's sister and brother-in-law were also involved in the crime. The victim's family were subjected to casteist slurs and death threats. According to media reports, the accused is identified as a Muslim man named Shahbaz alias Shabbu. He had abducted the girl. Following this, the girl’s family went to the house of the Muslim accused’s sister to recover their daughter. When they reached their house, the accused's sister told the victim's family that they would convert their daughter to Islam and get her married to Shahbaz. The accused's sister also threatened the victim's family that if they went to the police, their whole family would be finished. The accused’s sister and brother-in-law further threatened to kill the family and pack them in a suitcase. Following this, the Muslim accused's sister also hurled casteist slurs towards the Hindu victim's family. According to the girl's family, the police released the accused after arresting them. Subsequently, all the accused locked their house and absconded. Amidst this, SP City Ayush Vikram Singh stated that Lalkurti police had been instructed to investigate the matter and take appropriate action. Following this, the National President of the All India Hindu Security Organisation, Sachin Sirohi, and BJP functionary, Vishal Kannaujiya, visited Lalkurti police station and demanded that the police take action and apprehend the perpetrators.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Preadtory Proselytisation. Within this, 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. The other subcategory selected is- Predatory Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. Within this, the tertiary category selected is- Conversion of minor. 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 selected in this case is- Hate Speech against Hindus. Within this, the subcategory selected is- Anti-Hindu slurs, mocking faith. Anti-Hindu slurs and the deliberate mocking of the Hindu faith owing to religious animosity involve the usage of derogatory terms, stereotypes, or offensive references to religious practices, symbols, or figures. One of the common anti-Hindu slurs used against Hindus is “cow-worshipper” and “cow piss drinker”. The intention of using this term is to demean and mock Hindus as a group and their religious beliefs since Hindus consider the cow holy. Additionally, some symbols and the slurs attached to them have a historical context that exacerbates the insult, hate, stereotyping, dehumanisation and oppression against Hindus. Cow worship has been used for centuries to denigrate Hindus, insult their faith and oppress Hindus specifically as a religious group. There has been overwhelming documentation about how cow slaughter has been used to persecute Hindus with cow meat being thrown in temples and places of worship. There has also been overwhelming documentation where cow meat (beef) has been force-fed to Hindus to either forcefully convert them to Islam or denigrate their faith. Apart from cow worship, the Swastika – which holds deep religious significance for the Hindus – has also been misinterpreted and distorted to use as a slur against Hindus. Similarly, the worship of the Shivling has been used by supremacist ideologies and religions to denigrate Hindus owing to religious animosity. Such slurs and denigration stem out of inherent animosity and hate towards Hindus and their faith, therefore, it is categorised as hate speech targeted at Hindus specifically owing to their religious identity. This incident starkly reflects a hate crime rooted in deep religious animosity against Hindus. At its core, a minor Hindu girl was abducted by a Muslim man. Following this, she was forced to convert to Islam and marry the Muslim abductor. This demonstrates a deliberate attempt to erase her Hindu religious identity. Such acts are designed not only to cause immense harm to the Hindu victim but also to send a message of dominance and intimidation to the wider Hindu community. Such actions are rooted in animosity towards the Hindu victim and her faith, making it a religiously motivated hate crime against the Hindu community. It is also important to highlight the fact that the Hindu victim in this case is a minor. This means the element of consent and genuine change of conscience was missing ab initio. Minors, due to their young age and lack of maturity, are particularly vulnerable to manipulation and coercion. They may not have the ability to fully understand the implications of converting to another religion, and the Muslim perpetrator purposely targeted and exploited this vulnerability of the victim. Since this case exemplifies the use of coercion and manipulation to achieve religious conversion, it is a blatant act of religious hate. The act of targeting a Hindu child for forced conversion and marriage is an act that violates her freedom and religious autonomy. This showcases the religiously motivated nature of the crime. Thirdly, the Muslim perpetrator's sister used casteist slurs against the victim’s family. It can be argued by some that a caste-specific slur is aimed at her micro identity of belonging to the section of the Hindu community and not her Hindu identity itself. However, as far as Abrahamic religions are concerned, the micro identities of caste, region, and language are secondary. It is the religious identity that drives the animosity of the Muslim perpetrators against the Hindu victim and her family. This showcases that the act was driven by the perpetrators' animosity towards Hinduism and Hindus. This makes this instance an act of religiously motivated hate speech against the Hindu community. Finally, the issuing of death threats to the victim's family is a clear tactic to instil terror and intimidation. These threats aimed not just at silencing the family from seeking justice but also at crushing their courage and determination to hold the Muslim perpetrators accountable. The combination of abduction, forced conversion, casteist abuse, and death threats reveals both the extent and the nature of the religious hostility that motivated this crime. Since this case meets various parameters of a religiously motivated hate crime, therefore, it is being added to the hate crime database. Disclaimer: Media reports make it clear that both the minor Hindu girl and her family were victims in this case. The minor girl was kidnapped, forced to convert and marry the Muslim perpetrator, while her family faced abuse through anti-Hindu caste slurs and death threats. However, as the exact number of family members affected is not specified, the victim count has been recorded as '1', referring only to the minor girl.
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
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
