Danish pretends to be Hindu and lures minor Hindu girl, kidnaps and keeps her hostage; rapes, feeds beef and forces her to do Namaz
Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India 
21 December, 2023
Case Summary
A 20-year-old man named Danish was arrested in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur on accusations of kidnapping, rape and illegal religious conversion of a 14-year-old girl. Danish lured her into a relationship by promising the world to her on social media under a Hindu name. He then kidnapped her and raped her multiple times. He forced her to consume beef and perform namaz. Furthermore, she was beaten if she refused to follow the orders. She was also taken to a Mosque and her name was changed to Muskaan Khan. Danish, the son of Gulfam, lived in a one-room slum built on a drain but used to send pictures of bungalows and cars to the minor on Instagram and presented himself as extremely wealthy. He abducted the girl on 22nd October 2023 and took her captive in Maikupurwa. He kept the victim hostage in his house and would sexually assault her as his family slept. He threatened her with dire consequences if she made any noise. He raped her for two months while the victim made several unsuccessful attempts at escaping during this period. On 30th December the perpetrator planned to convert her to Islam and marry him against her wishes. Just then, Hindu organisations such as Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal learned about the incident and rescued the victim with the help of locals.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the hate tracker under the prime category- Hate crime against women in relationship and sexual crimes. Under this category, two sub-categories have been selected, as per case details. The first is- Brainwashed and/or groomed, under which two tertiary categories namely, 'Rape and sexual assault/harassment' and 'Conversion of minor' have been selected. In our database, we have not added incidents where women have converted to another religion of their free will and no allegations of forced/involuntary conversion have been made. However, there are certain cases of conversion where the consent itself is a result of the brainwashing or grooming of a minor by the non-Hindu perpetrator trying to victimise a woman for her Hindu religious identity. The phenomenon of grooming points to non-Hindu perpetrators identifying their Hindu victims’ vulnerabilities and exploiting them over months and sometimes years, to extract the supposed ‘consent’ in order to convert their religion. In most cases of grooming, the victims are minors or the grooming started when the victim was a minor. In other cases of grooming, the non-Hindu perpetrator brainwashes and grooms a minor victim to extract their trust and then proceeds to rape them repeatedly with the intent of converting them to their faith. It is pertinent to understand here that when the victim is a minor, the ‘consent’ to convert or enter into a romantic relationship with an adult itself is redundant – addressed by POCSO. While every case of conversion of a minor and incident of establishing a physical relationship with a minor by an adult is a crime, for the purpose of this database, a case would be considered a hate crime only if there is a distinct religious angle to the grooming. For example, in the UK, if a Hindu minor is targeted by Pakistani grooming gangs, it would be considered a hate crime because the victims are specifically targeted owing to their non-Muslim religious identity with the perpetrators being Muslim. In other cases, if a Hindu minor is brainwashed into entering a physical relationship with the non-Hindu adult perpetrator and the family alleges grooming/brainwashing of the minor to convert her religion, it would form a part of this database. If the victim is a Hindu adult, the case would form a part of this database only if the victim herself says that she was brainwashed/groomed to convert her religion. However, if the victim is deceased (murdered or otherwise), the case would form a part of this database if her family/friends provided testimony that the victim was brainwashed/groomed to convert her religion. Since these crimes have a distinct religious angle where the victim is being targeted owing to her Hindu religious identity, these cases are considered hate crimes. Here, various components make this case worthy of being documented as a religiously motivated hate crime. First and foremost, the Muslim perpetrator lured a minor Hindu girl under a fake Hindu identity. The perpetrator's deliberate deception by assuming a false identity as a Hindu reflects a calculated attempt to exploit the girl's religious background. By posing as someone who shares her faith, he manipulated her trust and violated her ability to make informed decisions about her relationships. This deception is not just a personal betrayal but a targeted attack on her religious identity, as the girl's trust was built on the belief that she was interacting with someone from her own religious community. Moreover, since the Hindu victim was a minor, 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 and the Muslim perpetrator purposely targeted and exploited this vulnerability of the victim. The Muslim accused then abducted the minor Hindu girl and kept her in confinement. He threatened her with dire consequences if she raised her voice. This itself is a severe form of intimidation. Then she was put through unfathomable physical torture by her perpetrators. The purpose behind the violence employed was to coerce the victim to abandon her faith and accept Islam. Further, the religious motivation became more apparent when the Muslim perpetrator forced her to consume beef, which is considered taboo in Hinduism, and perform namaz. She was also taken to a Mosque and her name was changed to Muskaan Khan. He also pressured her to convert her to Islam and marry him against her wishes. Forced conversion to Islam again underscores the religious dimension of the crime. The fact that the girl was pressured to abandon her faith and adopt another religion against her will is a clear violation of her religious freedom. Conversion through coercion, especially when the victim is a minor, is a severe infringement on her rights and autonomy. The use of force or manipulation to change someone's religion is a manifestation of religious intolerance and an attempt to erase the victim's original cultural and religious identity. As such, this case qualifies as a religiously motivated hate crime, driven by a disregard for the victim's faith and a desire to impose a different religious identity upon her.
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
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
