Minor Hindu girl goes missing after befriending Muslim woman; family fears religious conversion

Case ID : e27500c | Location : Deoria, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Sat, 8 February, 2025

Case ID : e27500c

Deoria, Uttar Pradesh, India

8 February, 2025

Minor Hindu girl goes missing after befriending Muslim woman; family fears religious conversion

Predatory Proselytisation

Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination

Conversion of minor

Family claims grooming

Case Summary

In Deoria district, Uttar Pradesh, a minor Hindu girl was lured and went missing after befriending a Muslim woman named Nargis Khatoon through social media. The girl’s family feared that she might be converted to Islam. According to reports, the victim was befriended by Nargis Khatoon, a resident of Asansol, through Instagram about six months prior to her disappearance. Their friendship gradually grew from online chats to phone conversations and in-person meetings. When the family discovered that Nargis was a Muslim, they warned their daughter not to stay in contact with her, but she continued to remain in contact. On the morning of 6 July 2025, the minor girl left home to relieve herself but did not return, even after a long time. During the initial investigation, it was found out that she had left her mobile phone at home, which revealed that her last conversation had been with Nargis. As of the date of writing, a case had been registered by the police against Nargis Khatoon and one other unidentified person. Technical investigation showed that the last location of the accused’s number was in Ballia district, Uttar Pradesh, before it was switched off. The investigation was ongoing, and police were interrogating the victim's friend through whom she came into contact with the accused. The family also feared that there could be an attempt to convert the girl to Islam and sought assistance from BJP MLA Shalabh Mani Tripathi, whose intervention led to expedited police action. West Bengal Police were also contacted as part of the search operation.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of - Predatory Proselytisation. Within it, the sub-category selected is - Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination, with the tertiary category being - Family claims grooming and 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. This case has been added to the tracker because a minor Hindu girl was lured and went missing after befriending a Muslim woman. The family feared that the minor girl might be converted to Islam. This pattern has been witnessed time and time again, where Muslim individuals target minor Hindu girls for religious conversion due to their perceived vulnerability. Such targeting is often carried out through deception, emotional manipulation, coercion, or, as in this case, by luring the girl through friendship and sustained interaction. Such actions stem from inherent hostility towards the victim's professed faith since Abrahamic faiths believe that any non-adherent to the faith is subject to being dehumanised till they convert. Therefore, religious conversions, even of minors, are often seen as a badge of honour, totally disregarding the methods used to achieve it. It is also important to mention that since the victim, in this case, is a minor, there was an absence of both consent and a genuine change of conscience. It is a well-established fact that children are more susceptible to manipulation since they are still developing emotionally, cognitively, and socially. Their brains are not fully mature, making them more vulnerable to influence and less capable of critically evaluating information. Moreover, subtle manipulation tactics can be difficult to detect, making it challenging for parents to identify and address instances of religious manipulation. Consequently, cases involving religious manipulation of minors not only represent an infringement on an individual's religious freedom but also demonstrate a calculated strategy of targeting those who are less able to resist or understand the long-term implications of conversion, making it a significant case of religiously motivated hate crime These actions reflect a broader pattern of Muslims targeting non-Muslim minors for religious conversion, which aligns with the criteria for religiously motivated hate crimes outlined in the database. Such crimes go beyond isolated personal offences; they point to a disturbing trend of eroding the cultural and religious fabric of non-Muslims, especially Hindus, through manipulation, coercion or sexual exploitation. Since such predatory actions stem from doctrinal animosity towards the Hindu faith and its adherents, this case is being documented as a religiously motivated hate crime. Disclaimer: Media reports state that the victim’s ordeal began six months ago when she came into contact with the accused through Instagram, though no exact date or month is provided. Thus, to document this case, we have used an indicative date—February 9, 2025—as a placeholder to represent the beginning of her suffering. While media coverage of the incident emerged on August 9, 2025, the Hinduphobia Tracker records the incident based on when the victim’s ordeal began, not when it was reported.