Minor Hindu girl kidnapped near a mosque and forcibly converted to Islam; victim's father subjected to physical assault and anti-Hindu slurs by Muslim mob
Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India 
1 June, 2025
Case Summary
A minor Hindu girl was kidnapped, forcibly converted to Islam, and married off in a Nikah ceremony in Varanasi’s Adampur area. The 12-year-old victim was abducted by a Muslim man named Nihal near Konia Badi Masjid in June 2025. The victim's father approached the local police repeatedly for help, but was dismissed each time. When he attempted to rescue his daughter from the Muslim accused's home, he was assaulted and surrounded by nearly 200 Muslim men, who threatened him with religious slurs and declared that his daughter had been converted and married within Islam and now belonged to their community. The mob stated, "You are a Kaafir (non-believer); that girl is now part of our community. Go away from here, or else we will send you to hell." The victim’s father somehow managed to escape and save his life. Following this, the family endured months of intimidation while authorities failed to act. The case only progressed after the father directly petitioned the Commissioner of Police, prompting swift action. Nihal and a woman accomplice were arrested, while police continued to search for Nihal’s father, Sharif, and his son, Lalu. In this case, charges were filed under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act 2021.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Predatory proselytisation. 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 in this case is- Attack not resulting in death. The subcategory selected is- Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save 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. 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 case was added to the tracker because it exemplifies a deliberate, religiously motivated crime in which a Hindu minor was targeted specifically for her faith, abducted, and subjected to forced conversion and marriage. The crime did not occur in isolation but reflected a systematic pattern of animosity towards Hindus, carried out through coercion, intimidation, and violence. The victim, a 12-year-old Hindu girl, was abducted by a Muslim man named Nihal, who exploited his access to her locality in Varanasi’s Adampur area. Over the course of months, she was removed from her family’s care, forcibly converted to Islam, and married off, stripping her not only of her childhood but also of her religious identity. The crime was made possible by the complicity of local actors who facilitated her conversion and marriage while her family’s pleas to authorities were ignored, showcasing an entrenched atmosphere of hostility towards Hindus and systemic negligence in cases of targeted violence against them. It is further important to note here that the victim was a minor, which 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. The girl was first forcibly converted to Islam and then married to a Muslim. This exemplifies the use of coercion and manipulation to achieve religious conversion, and it is a blatant act of religious hate, which is why it has been documented here in the hate tracker. The persecution did not end with the abduction and forced conversion. When the girl’s father attempted to recover his daughter, he was surrounded by a large mob of approximately 200 Muslim men. He was then physically assaulted and subjected to anti-Hindu religious slurs, further reinforcing the religious nature of this crime. The threat of mob violence was explicitly tied to his Hindu identity and his resistance to his daughter’s coerced conversion, as the Muslim perpetrators declared that she now “belonged” to their community. This showcased the religious targeting and dehumanisation of the victim girl and her father due to their Hindu faith, making it a hate crime motivated by religious hostility. For months, this Hindu family endured relentless threats and harassment, coupled with the failure of local authorities to provide protection or pursue justice. This case represents not merely a crime against an individual but an act of targeted persecution rooted in hatred of Hinduism. The abduction and forced conversion of a minor girl are explicit violations of her religious freedom and human dignity. The father’s subsequent assault highlights the danger faced by Hindus who attempt to resist or protect their loved ones from religiously motivated crimes, revealing a climate of impunity for such violence. Forced conversion and marriage are not isolated offences but part of a systematic campaign of coercion aimed at undermining Hindu identity, particularly targeting vulnerable individuals like children. This case stands as a stark example of predatory proselytisation combined with violent intimidation, illustrating how religious hatred manifests both through the victimisation of Hindu women and minor girls and through the suppression of Hindu men who defend their families and faith. Given that this case meets the parameters of a religiously motivated crime, it is being added to the hate crime database. Disclaimer: Media reports state that the victim’s ordeal began when she was abducted 3 months ago, i.e., in June 2025, though no exact date or month is provided. To document this case, we have used an indicative date— June 2, 2025—as a placeholder to represent the beginning of her suffering. While media coverage of the incident emerged on September 2, 2025. The Hinduphobia Tracker records the incident based on when the victim’s ordeal began, not when it was reported by the media.
Victim Details
Total Victim
2
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 1
- Female 1
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 2
Age Group
- Minor 1
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Case sub-judice
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
N/A
Perpetrators Gender
both
Sources 
