Hindu woman deceived and abused for her faith by Muslim man pretending to be Hindu; forced into nikah and made to eat meat

Case ID : ea349cc | Location : Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Thu, 30 November, 2023

Case ID : ea349cc

Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh, India

30 November, 2023

Hindu woman deceived and abused for her faith by Muslim man pretending to be Hindu; forced into nikah and made to eat meat

Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes

Man pretends to be Hindu

Name Changed

Marries as per Hindu rituals

Assault or threat upon refusal to convert

Blackmailed to convert

Forced conversion after marriage

Forced to do Nikah

Case Summary

A Hindu woman in Chhatarpur district reported that she was deceived into marriage under false identity and later subjected to abuse, coercion, and theft. The accused, Samir Khan, introduced himself as a Hindu named "Samir Tiwari" and lured the woman into a romantic relationship, eventually marrying her at a Hindu temple. After the marriage, he revealed his real identity and religion, conducted a second marriage through nikah, and began pressuring her to convert. The woman reported that she had already been married in 2015. From the first marriage, she had two girls of 7 years old and 5 years old. According to the woman, she first met the accused during her brother’s wedding in December 2023, where he presented himself as Samir Tiwari. He assisted her in obtaining a divorce from her first husband. In August 2024, the two married according to Hindu rituals at the Jatashankar temple. Later, the woman discovered that his actual name was Samir Khan and that he was a Muslim. Upon confessing the truth, Samir promised to respect her religion and dietary practices. Trusting his assurance, the woman entered into a nikah with him on 13th December 2024. However, following the nikah, Samir Khan and his family began harassing her. The woman stated that she was subjected to physical assault, prevented from visiting temples, and pressured to consume meat. She further reported that Samir took ₹3 lakh in cash and expensive jewellery from her, and also forced her to buy a motorbike, a television, a cooler, and an iPhone. When she resisted, he reportedly threatened to kill her. On 26th April 2025, she was locked in a room. She managed to escape and, on Thursday, 1st May 2025, walked 14 kilometres barefoot to Chhatrasal Crossing, where she dialled the emergency police number 100. The police confirmed that they have received the woman’s complaint and that the investigation was ongoing.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case is categorised under the primary category- Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. Under that, the relevant sub-category is- Man pretends to be Hindu, and within it the tertiary categories selected are- Name Changed and Marries as per Hindu rituals. When a non-Hindu man pretends to be a Hindu to deceive a Hindu woman into a relationship, the act is seen as triggered by malafide intentions. In some cases, the woman eventually accepts the man’s original religious identity and converts after the man’s identity is revealed. These cases could be argued as cases of religious brainwashing and a result of the pressure a woman feels after getting into a relationship with a man. The woman, it can be argued, also changed her religious identity because of the stigma she believes she might face if she chooses to walk out of a deceptive relationship. However, for the purpose of documenting hate crimes, the cases in this subcategory are limited to those where there is explicit violence aimed at religious conversion against the wishes of the victim (force-feeding beef, blackmailing with intimate videos, rape on refusal to convert, etc), or if the woman herself complains of the man’s religious deception. In such cases, it is established that the deception of the non-Hindu man had a specific aim of religious conversion or targeting of the victim due to her Hindu religious identity, therefore, making it a religiously motivated hate crime. The other sub-category selected is- Assault or threat upon refusal to convert. When Hindu women are in a relationship with non-Hindu men, there are cases where the woman faces threats or assault after she refuses to convert and change her religious identity owing to pressure/force by the non-Hindu man. Such relationships may be consensual with the religious identity of the non-Hindu man known to the victim. Somewhere along the relationship, the non-Hindu man starts pressurizing the Hindu woman to convert to Islam and upon her refusal, assaults or threatens the victim. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. Cases where the Hindu woman converts to Islam and does not file a complaint about the force or threat, are not considered a part of the hate tracker, even though, it may be argued that the woman was brainwashed or threatened to convert to Islam. The other sub-category selected is- Blackmailed to convert. When Hindu women are in a relationship with non-Hindu men, there are cases where the woman is blackmailed to convert her religion, owing to her religious identity of being a Hindu. Such relationships may be consensual with the religious identity of the non-Hindu man known to the victim, however, there could be cases where the relationship is not consensual and the non-Hindu man starts blackmailing a Hindu woman to convert her religion. In these cases, it is often seen that the Hindu woman is blackmailed with intimate photos and/or videos, threats of harm to her or her family, threats of violence etc. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. The other sub-category selected is- Forced conversion after marriage, and within it the tertiary category selected is- Forced to do Nikah. In such cases, a non-Hindu man marries a Hindu woman and the force/pressure to convert to Islam begins after marriage. In such cases, the marriage is consensual in most cases and often, there is no element of the man hiding his religious identity. The marriage could be under the Special Marriages Act where neither parties are required to convert their religion for the marriage to be considered legitimate. While the victim in such cases enters matrimony assuming that religious identity is not a barrier, the non-Hindu man starts to pressure the woman to convert to Islam after marriage. In such cases, there is application of force by the perpetrator, including, denial of the woman’s religious rights. Some of the means by which the woman is forced/pressured to convert include force-feeding beef, forced to read the Kalma, forced to wear a hijab, forced for Halala, etc. There are several instances where after marriage, the woman voluntarily converts to Islam. Such cases are often argued to be a result of religious brainwashing, however, for the purpose of documenting religiously motivated hate crimes, in the absence of the victim complaining of forced conversion, such cases do not form a part of the database. This case constitutes a religiously motivated hate crime due to the clear pattern of deception, coercion, and targeted abuse based on the victim’s Hindu identity. A Muslim man deliberately changed his name and concealed his religious background to marry a Hindu woman through Hindu rituals. The act of adopting a Hindu identity for the purpose of entering into a relationship and conducting a marriage according to Hindu customs reflects a calculated attempt to bypass the woman’s religious and cultural boundaries. This is not merely an instance of personal dishonesty but a wilful act that exploited the woman’s trust and faith. Following the Hindu marriage, the man revealed his true identity and subsequently compelled the woman to undergo a nikah. This shift from a Hindu marriage to a Muslim one, initiated through pressure and without the woman's genuine consent, indicates a clear intent to enforce religious conversion through manipulation. The woman was placed in a situation where her religious autonomy was systematically undermined, beginning with deception and followed by social and emotional pressure to convert. In addition to the pressure for religious conversion, the woman faced repeated acts of violence and threats when she resisted. These included being locked in a room, subjected to physical assault, and threatened with death. Such threats were not random but were directed at coercing compliance with the man’s religious expectations, particularly the demand for conversion. She was also prevented from visiting temples. This violence was thus not incidental but central to the act of forcing a change in religious identity. One of the most distressing aspects of the abuse involved the man’s insistence that the woman consume meat, despite her objections. For many practising Hindus, especially those who are vegetarian for religious reasons, the consumption of meat is more than a dietary choice—it is a fundamental expression of faith and cultural discipline. Force-feeding non-vegetarian food in such a context is a direct assault on the victim’s religious beliefs and practices, and amounts to a serious violation of her bodily autonomy and spiritual dignity. Taken together, these elements clearly establish that the abuse was a hate crime rooted in religious hostility. The victim was specifically targeted because of her Hindu identity, which was methodically attacked through deception, forced rituals, coercion, and cultural degradation. Disclaimer: Here, it becomes important to note that the media reports mention that the victim's ordeal started when she met the accused in December 2023. However, the exact date is not mentioned. Therefore, to document this case, we have chosen a date, which is not accurate but only indicative of the month and the year. While media coverage of the incident emerged on May 1, 2025, the Hinduphobia Tracker records the incident based on when the victim’s ordeal began, not when it was reported.