Leftist portal cover ups Hindu minor's religious conversion attempt under the guise of monetary dispute
Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, India 
4 April, 2025
Case Summary
In Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, two Muslim women, Shehnaz and Khushnuma, attempted to convert a 16-year-old Hindu minor girl by manipulating her with false promises of wealth. They deceived the girl by telling her that she would become rich if she kept Roza during Ramadan. Acting on their influence, the minor observed Roza for two to three days. The case came to light when the girl's family intervened, and a police case was filed for attempted religious conversion of a minor. Instead of reporting the gravity of the situation, The Wire, a left-leaning propaganda portal, attempted to distort the narrative. Journalist Umar Rashid, writing 'Roza or Economic Dispute: Why was a Muslim woman arrested for ‘conversion’ during Ramzan in UP?' for The Wire, tried to portray the incident as a mere financial dispute, relying solely on the bail plea of the accused, Shehnaz. According to Shehnaz's claims, the complainant’s wife allegedly borrowed ₹50,000 from her and, when unable to repay, falsely implicated her in a case of religious conversion. Shehnaz claimed that she had only gone to the complainant's house to recover the debt and was wrongfully accused and detained. However, Rashid’s report completely ignored the version of the victim and the findings of the police investigation. No effort was made to verify the accused’s claims, nor was any space given to the statements of the minor girl or her family. The report heavily leaned on the accused’s narrative, thereby attempting to water down a serious case of predatory proselytisation targeting a vulnerable Hindu minor.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case is added under the primary category- Hate Speech Against Hindus. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Anti Hindu subversion and prejudice, and the tertiary category relevant is- Anti-Hindu Fake News or Downplaying. Hate speech is defined as any speech, gesture, conduct, writing, or display that is prejudicial against a specific individual and/or group of people, which is leading to or may lead to violence, prejudicial action or hate against that individual and/or group. Media plays a specific and overarching reach in perpetuating prejudicial attitudes towards a community owing to unfair, untrue coverage and/or misrepresentation/misinterpretation, selective coverage and/or omission of facts of/pertaining to issues affecting a specific religious group. This type of bias can dehumanise the victim group, making it easier for others to justify harmful actions against them, which aligns with the objectives of hate speech laws aimed at preventing such harm. It is often observed that the media takes a prejudicial stand against the Hindu community driven by their need to shield the aggressor community which happens to be a numeric minority, however, is the one perpetrating violence against Hindus. For example, the media is often quick to contextualise religiously motivated crimes against Hindus, omit or misrepresent facts that point towards religiously motivated hate crimes, justify and/or downplay religiously motivated hate crimes or simply present fake news to stereotype Hindus. Such media bias leads to the denial of persecution and is often used to dehumanise Hindus, leading to justification for violence against them. For example, the media covered several fake allegations of Hindus targeting Muslims and forcing them to chant Jai Shree Ram. Most of these cases were proved false and fabricated after police investigation. These fake news reports were subsequently never retracted or clarified. Such fake news led to the justification of violence and dehumanisation of Hindus based on the argument that since Hindus targeted Muslims and forced them to chant Jai Shree Ram, the dehumanisation of Hindus and violence against them was par for the course and merely a retaliation. Such media bias leads to prejudicial portrayal of Hindus and offers a justification for violence against them and therefore, is considered hate speech under this category. This one-sided reportage fits a known pattern in The Wire's history of whitewashing crimes involving religious conversion attempts, particularly when Hindus are the victims. In this case, by presenting only the accused’s version of events — based entirely on her bail plea — and omitting the victim’s testimony, police findings, and broader context, The Wire deliberately obscured the core issue: an alleged attempt to convert a vulnerable minor girl through deceit. Such selective amplification of the accused’s defence, without scrutiny or balance, not only misleads readers but also trivialises the deeply traumatic experience of the victim. Religious conversion of minors, especially under false pretences, is a grave offence under Indian law and a clear instance of communal targeting. Attempting to reframe it as a mere "financial dispute" erases the religious motivation behind the crime, effectively minimising a hate crime into a private disagreement. In doing so, The Wire shields the perpetrators from public accountability, normalises coercive conversion practices, and continues its long-standing editorial bias favouring narratives that dismiss or downplay anti-Hindu crimes.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Others
Perpetrators Range
N/A
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
