Hindu girl deceived by Muslim man posing as Hindu, raped repeatedly on false promise of marriage

Case ID : e274ea3 | Location : Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Wed, 26 April, 2023

Case ID : e274ea3

Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India

26 April, 2023

Hindu girl deceived by Muslim man posing as Hindu, raped repeatedly on false promise of marriage

Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes

Man pretends to be Hindu

Name Changed

Case Summary

In Ghaziabad, a Hindu girl was lured, trapped into a relationship, and sexually exploited under the false promise of marriage by a Muslim man named Arshad. The accused concealed his Hindu identity and posed as a Hindu. According to reports, the Hindu girl, a resident of Dasna, was pursuing a BSc degree at a college in 2023, where she was befriended by the accused, who introduced himself as a Hindu man named Adarsh. Gradually, their friendship turned into a romantic relationship. On 27 April 2023, the accused came to her house, while she was alone, and forcibly raped her. When confronted, he pacified her with promises of marriage and continued to exploit her emotionally and physically. The accused then started sexually exploiting the Hindu girl repeatedly based on the false promise of marriage. It was later revealed that the accused's real name was Arshad and that he was a Muslim. Shocked by the deception and ongoing exploitation, the victim approached the police and registered a formal complaint. Upon investigation, the police arrested Arshad, who, during interrogation, admitted that he was studying BA in the same college and had lured the girl into a relationship using a false identity.

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 girl was lured into a relationship and sexually exploited by a Muslim man who pretended to be a Hindu to entrap her. 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 accused was evidently aware that the victim, being Hindu, would likely refuse his advances if she knew his real identity, and he circumvented this by lying, which directly points to a religiously driven intent. This deception reflects a larger pattern where Hindu women are specifically singled out using false identities, often with coercion or 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 hate and exploitation. Disclaimer: It is important to clarify that the report does not specify the exact date when the woman's ordeal began, but it mentions that the accused raped her on April 27, 2023. Since this is the earliest date mentioned, we are considering this as when the victim's ordeal began and using this as the incident date. While media coverage of the incident emerged later, the Hinduphobia Tracker records the incident based on when the victim’s ordeal began, not when it was reported.