Hindu woman forcibly converted and deceived into nikah by Muslim man
Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India 
18 April, 2025
Case Summary
In Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, a Hindu woman was deceived into a relationship, forcibly converted, and married under Islamic law by a man named Mohammad Gulbahar. The incident took place in the New Mandi police station area. The woman stated in her police complaint that she first came into contact with Gulbahar through mobile conversations. Over time, their communication increased, and he pressured her emotionally to live with him under the pretence of love. She recounted that Gulbahar forcibly converted her religion and performed Nikah with her, after which his behaviour changed drastically. He subjected her to both mental and physical abuse. She further revealed that Gulbahar later travelled to Saudi Arabia. While he was abroad, she discovered that he was planning to marry another woman. When she confronted him and opposed his decision, he assaulted her. The woman said she had been thoroughly deceived and manipulated. After receiving details of the case, the Senior Superintendent of Police ordered that a formal case be registered against Gulbahar at the relevant police station.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of- Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Forced conversion before marriage, and within it, the tertiary category selected is- Forced to do Nikah. In such cases, a non-Hindu man is in a relationship with a Hindu woman when the pressure to convert her religion begins to manifest. The relationship in such cases is mostly consensual and the religious identity of the perpetrator is known to the Hindu woman in the relationship, however, at some point during the relationship, the non-Hindu man starts to force the victim to convert her religion and give up her Hindu religious identity. In such cases, the methods used to force the victim to convert her religion often revolve around force-feeding beef, forcing her to wear hijab, forcing her to read the Kalma or even pressurising the victim to do ‘Nikah’, which is marriage under Islamic law, with a prerequisite being conversion to Islam. Cases where a Hindu woman consensually converts to Islam in a relationship will be left out of the hate crime database, even though it could be argued in several cases that the conversion was a result of religious brainwashing. This case qualifies as a hate crime as it involves the deliberate targeting of a Hindu woman because of her religious identity, with the intent to erase that identity through coercion and deception. In this instance, there is no specific element of the Muslim accused hiding his identity. In such cases, the woman, in all probability, is made to believe that her faith would not stand in the way of their relationship. Here too, taking the accused’s word for it, the Hindu woman entered into a romantic relationship with the Muslim man. The Muslim man continued to take advantage of her physically under the pretence of love. He then forced the woman to give up her professed faith and convert to Islam. He forced her to perform Nikah with him. After all of this, the woman was manipulated and then subjected to mental and physical abuse. This reflects a targeted campaign to strip her of her Hindu identity, driven by religious supremacy. Further, the blackmail and threats she faced following the revelation of the perpetrator’s second marriage reinforce that the abuse was sustained and exploitative, aimed at silencing and controlling the victim due to her religious background. As such, this case fits squarely within the framework of a religiously motivated hate crime and warrants inclusion in the tracker.
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 0
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
