Minor Hindu girl pressured to convert to Islam after knifepoint sexual assault by Muslim youth in Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh

Case ID : e275024 | Location : Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Fri, 8 August, 2025

Case ID : e275024

Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh, India

8 August, 2025

Minor Hindu girl pressured to convert to Islam after knifepoint sexual assault by Muslim youth in Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh

Predatory Proselytisation

Harassment, threats, coercion for conversion

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim

Case Summary

In Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh, a minor Hindu girl was sexually assaulted at knifepoint by a Muslim youth. When the victim’s family went to confront the accused’s family, the accused’s father and brother pressured the girl to convert to Islam. When the victim's family opposed this, they were subjected to physical assault by the accused's family. According to media reports, the Hindu victim was a student at a coaching institute where the accused Muslim youth also studied. The accused deceitfully obtained the phone number of the victim from her friend. Following this, he began harassing her by calling and messaging her daily under the pretext of discussing studies. The Hindu girl had reported that after completing her intermediate examinations, she had enrolled in a college in Tirwa. The Muslim accused followed her there as well, stopping her on the pretext of talking about coaching. One day, he made her forcibly sit on his motorcycle and took her to the service road in Patti, near Thathiya Mandi. There, he sexually assaulted her at knifepoint and threatened to kill her if she resisted or spoke about the incident to anyone. Following this, the victim narrated her ordeal to her family. Deeply disturbed by what their daughter had gone through, the family went to the Muslim youth’s house to confront him and his family. There, the accused’s family pressured the Hindu girl to convert to Islam. When the victim's family resisted, they were physically assaulted. As a result, the victim’s mental condition worsened. On 9th August 2025, her father filed a complaint at Thathiya police station demanding immediate action. However, the police failed to act. Following this, on 11th August 2025, the distressed father approached the Superintendent of Police, seeking intervention on the complaint.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Predatory 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. Another primary category selected in this case is- Attack not resulting in death. The subcategory selected is- Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save the victim. In several cases, Hindus are attacked for opposing religiously motivated crimes being committed against a fellow Hindu or simply for voicing an opinion opposing radical elements, who either have in the past or continue to persecute Hindus. In such cases, the initial attack against the victim, against which the Hindu was trying to defend the victim, would also need to be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the initial crime itself was religiously motivated and the subsequent crime of attempting to save the victim or speaking against the radical elements ends up inviting a violent attack, it would also be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. In this case, a minor Hindu girl was first harassed and sexually assaulted at knifepoint by the accused Muslim youth. This was not only a gross violation of her body and dignity but also the start of a series of actions targeting her due to her Hindu identity. The initial assault placed her in a position of immense vulnerability, making her an easier target for further coercion and abuse. Following this, the situation escalated when the Muslim accused’s family exerted pressure on the Hindu girl to convert to Islam in the aftermath of the assault. This was not a casual suggestion or a personal matter; it was a blatant attempt to forcibly erase her Hindu identity, compounding her trauma directly after the violence she had endured. Linking such coercion to an already violent sexual attack on a Hindu girl demonstrates the clear element of religious coercion. Such actions are rooted in animosity towards the girl’s Hindu identity and faith. It is also essential to remember that the victim is a minor. This means any notion of consent or genuine change of conscience is invalid from the outset. Minors, because of their young age and lack of maturity, are particularly vulnerable to manipulation and coercion. They are unlikely to fully understand the implications of religious conversion. The Muslim perpetrators in this case deliberately targeted and exploited the victim’s vulnerability. This case exemplifies the use of coercion and manipulation to pursue religious conversion, which makes it a blatant act of religious hate. Such actions are clear examples of crimes motivated by religious animosity toward Hinduism and the Hindu community. When the Hindu victim’s family, and particularly her father, opposed the forced conversion, they were met with brutal violence. The victim’s family members were physically assaulted by the Muslim accused’s father and brother for standing up to the demand that the girl abandon her faith. This assault was not just personal vengeance; it was punishment for resisting an attempt at religious conversion and a warning intended to intimidate both the Hindu victim and her family. Such acts of forced conversion followed by violence are a violation of the victim’s Hindu identity and a calculated attempt to coerce her into abandoning her faith. This also showcases the intimidation faced by the victim's family for opposing the forced conversion of their daughter, making this a clear case of a religiously motivated crime. Another important point to highlight is that the police did not act promptly following the father’s initial complaint. This lack of immediate action emboldens the Muslim perpetrators to continue their actions against the Hindu family. It also reflects a systematic bias and discrimination faced by Hindus, particularly when they become victims of sexual assault and forced conversions. Such inaction not only allows religiously motivated crimes against Hindus to occur but further entrenches and exacerbates the cycle of hostility and injustice faced by the Hindu community. These events unmistakably illustrate the religious motivation behind this crime. The victim was targeted because she was Hindu, sexually violated, and then pressured to adopt another religion against her will. Her family was attacked for defending her right to remain true to her faith. This fits the definition of a hate crime, and hence it is being added to the hate crime database. Disclaimer: Media reports do not specify the exact date when the victim’s ordeal began. They only mention that the first police complaint by the victim’s father was filed on 9th August 2025. Therefore, for documentation purposes, we are using an indicative date of 9th August 2025 as the date of the incident. Hinduphobia Tracker records the date when the victim’s ordeal begins, rather than when it is reported in the media. Additionally, the reports do not mention the exact number of the victim’s family members who were attacked by the Muslim accused. It specifically only mentions the victim girl and her father. Therefore, we are keeping the victim count as "2", referring to the victim girl and her father. The reports also do not specify the total number of perpetrators, only naming the accused, his father, and his brother. Therefore, for documentation, we are recording the perpetrator count as "3", referring to the Muslim youth, his father, and brother.