Father-son duo nabbed for forcing Hindu girl to convert, wear hijab, and offer namaz
Srinagar, Uttarakhand, India 
21 June, 2023
Case Summary
In Srinagar, Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, a father-son duo was arrested by the police for forcing a girl to convert to Islam. The victim's father filed an FIR, accusing his daughter's friend and the friend's brother of attempting to convert her, along with forcing her to wear a hijab, offer namaz, and marry the boy. The boy's father was also implicated. Mujeeb Khan (22) and Babu Khan (45) were apprehended by police at Rishikesh railway station after fleeing. They were charged under sections 354 and 3/5 of the Uttarakhand Religious Freedom Act 2018, with additional charges against the son for molestation.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The sub-category under which we have put this case is 'attempting to convert by harassment/threat' under the prime category of Predatory Proselytisation since the victim was harassed and threatened to convert to Islam. 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 have 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 and forceful circumcision. 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 in an attempt to make the Hindu victim abandon his/her professed religion and adopt the religion of the perpetrator. In this sub-category, we would include cases where the non-Hindu perpetrator harassed, threatened or coerced the victim to convert, however, the Hindu victim did not convert to another faith. Cases where the victim was converted owing to the harassment and threats would be documented in another sub-category. 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. This case stands out as an example of a hate crime motivated by religion since the Muslim perpetrator used intimidation and pressure to try to get the Hindu victim to abandon her professed religion and accept Islam. The victim was coerced by the accused to offer Namaz and wear a hijab, two Islamic rituals, in an attempt to force her into conversion. This is obviously done when the offender harbours deep disdain for the victim's professed religion and has a blatant desire for the Hindu victim to adopt his professed religion. The case has been classified as a hate crime since the victim's religious beliefs and the desire to strip her of her religious rights serve as the driving force behind the crime.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 1
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 1
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 1
Case Status
Arrested
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
