Case Summary

In Lucknow, a Hindu woman was deceived by a Muslim man who concealed his family background and married her. Upon discovering the truth, his entire family began pressuring her to convert to Islam. The Muslim in-laws demanded a huge dowry. She was forced to consume meat against her will, and her father-in-law attempted to sexually assault her. Hinduphobia tracker has a copy of the FIR, according to which, the woman is a resident of Madiyaon, Lucknow. Following the death of her father, the woman’s uncle and aunt arranged her marriage to a man named Raj from Kunda, Pratapgarh, who was residing with his family at the Nirankar Bhavan in Madhavnagar, Nasik. Prior to the marriage, Raj had informed the family that his first wife, Seema Shukla, was not good, and he had therefore separated from her. In May 2023, her uncle and aunt visited Raj's home for verification. The engagement was held on 4 July 2023. However, the groom’s family subsequently demanded ₹8 lakh in dowry. When the bride’s family objected and threatened to involve the police, the groom’s side agreed to proceed with the wedding. The wedding took place on 23rd November 2023. The wedding ceremony did not follow any Hindu customs or rituals. Approximately 35 people attended, but no religious rites were performed. She also recalled that a sacred thread offered by the priest was thrown away. At the time of vidai, her mother-in-law demanded 50000 from her mother. Upon arriving at her in-laws’ home, she learned that her father-in-law had previously married two Muslim women, and Raj was the son of one of them. The family's religion was not disclosed, and she was unaware of this background before the marriage. Raj had two brothers, both Muslims, and a Muslim woman named Reena and a 15-year-old boy were also residing in the household. Initially, the marital life seemed normal, but within a month, things started to deteriorate. Reena shared a room with her in-laws while she and her husband slept in the drawing room. Eventually, Raj left the house claiming office work. During his absence, the father-in-law attempted to sexually assault her. She escaped and informed her husband, after which the entire family turned against her. The father-in-law demanded ₹8 lakh more. Later, Raj took her to Bhiwandi, Maharashtra, where her in-laws blocked her contact with her own family. She stated that Raj and his sister forcibly fed her chicken, and when she resisted and spat it out, she was beaten severely. This physical assault led to a miscarriage. Raj then sent her to her parents’ home for 12 days in March 2024, and upon her recovery, brought her back to Mumbai. In April 2024, she was again taken to Goa. There, she was given beer, after which she became unconscious. This occurred for two consecutive nights, during which she sensed she was being violated but could not recall details clearly. She was also taken to Kas Pathar, Maharashtra. There, she was left alone in the forest. An attempt was also made to strangle her to death. She further stated that Raj demanded she follow the lifestyle of his family, adopt Islam, and bring ₹8 lakh. Upon her refusal, she was denied entry back into the home. When she mentioned going to the police, she was threatened with death. Following her complaint, the family vacated their home in Mumbai. The local women's police station registered an FIR based on her complaint.

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Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker un the primary category of - Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. The sub-category selected here is - Man pretends to be Hindu. 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- 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- 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 - Forced conversion after marriage. 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, typically, two patterns emerge. First, when the relationship is consensual, and the religious identity of the perpetrator is known to the Hindu woman in the relationship. 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. The second is when the woman gets into a marriage with the man pretending to share her faith. Later, when the truth is revealed, the man starts pressuring the woman to convert her religion and give up her religious identity. In both situations, there is application of force by the perpetrator, including the denial of the woman’s religious rights. Some of the means by which the woman is forced/pressured to convert include force-feeding beef, being forced to read the Kalma, being forced to wear a hijab, forced to undergo 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 qualifies as a hate crime because of the deliberate targeting of a Hindu woman based on her religious identity and the use of deception, coercion, and threats with the intent to forcibly convert her. To begin with, the marriage itself was initiated under false pretences. The man, Raj, deliberately concealed his Muslim identity and misrepresented his family background in order to deceive a Hindu woman into matrimony. The fact that this misrepresentation involved religious identity is significant; it reveals a premeditated attempt to enter a relationship with the intent of subverting the woman's informed consent based on shared faith. Following the marriage, the Muslim family repeatedly harassed her. Her Muslim father-in-law attempted to rape her. The woman was coerced under threat of domestic violence, economic demands (a dowry of ₹8 lakh), and isolation from her own family. At one point, she was fed meat against her religious beliefs, beaten severely enough to cause a miscarriage, and drugged into unconsciousness—actions that are not only abusive but symbolically and materially aimed at dismantling her religious and bodily autonomy. The insistence on meat consumption, in this context, is not a neutral dietary suggestion but a pointed violation of the woman’s religious and cultural convictions. In many Hindu traditions, abstention from meat is not merely a lifestyle choice but a deeply held religious and cultural practice tied to notions of purity, non-violence, and respect for sacred life. Forcing or pressuring a Hindu woman to consume meat as part of a broader strategy of religious conversion constitutes a direct assault on her identity and beliefs. Once the marital bond was established, the woman was no longer treated as a partner but as a subject of reformation, expected to conform to her husband's family's religious practices and identity. Her refusal was met with further degradation, abandonment, and violence, clearly demonstrating that the intention of the marriage was not a consensual union but rather a means to manipulate, convert, and dominate her based on religious grounds. In conclusion, this case is not merely one of domestic violence or dowry harassment, though those elements are certainly present. It is distinctly religious in motive and execution. The repeated and systematic efforts to erase the woman’s Hindu identity, initiated through deception and escalated through violence, establish this as a case of religiously motivated hate crime, targeting her as a Hindu. Disclaimer: Media reports state that the victim's ordeal began when she met the accused in 2023, though no exact date is provided. To document this case, we have used an indicative date—May 1, 2023—as a placeholder to represent the beginning of her suffering. While media coverage of the incident emerged in May 2025, the Hinduphobia Tracker records the incident based on when the victim’s ordeal began, not when it was reported.