Case Summary

In Kotwali Nagar police station area, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, a group of Muslim men lured a minor Hindu girl on the pretext of marriage. Hinduphobia tracer obtained a copy of the FIR. It was filed by the mother of the victim. According to the FIR, the minor Hindu girl (14 years old) left home to attend tuition. However, when she did not return home by 10 PM, her family began searching for her, but she could not be found. The family received information that the daughter had been lured and abducted with the intention of marriage by Subhan, son of Zakir, resident of Sarai Sultani, Police Station Sasanigate; Anas, son of Babul, resident of Ghaas ki Mandi, Kotwali Nagar; and Zeeshan, son of Saddam, resident of Daujii Mandir, Babri Mandi, Kotwali. Subhan, in collusion with the other two, took the minor Hindu girl and hid her at the residence of Shakil, son of Akbar, resident of Gokul Aabadi, Kotwali. There, she was kept hidden and held captive. Shakil also supported this by providing shelter in his house and holding her. The family informed the police, and the police recovered the girl from the perpetrator's house and arrested Subhan, Shakil and Anas. At the time of writing this report, the other perpetrator, Zeeshan, remained at large. The police station in charge confirmed that the girl was securely handed back to her family.

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Why it is Hate Crime ?

In this case, a 14-year-old Hindu minor girl was lured away by Muslim men on the pretext of marriage. While it is important to acknowledge that the victim in this case is a minor, making any supposed "consent" legally invalid under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the criteria for inclusion in the hate crime database require a distinct religious motive. This could potentially be a crime motivated by religious profiling, as it has been observed that in many cases, Muslim perpetrators target Hindu women and girls due to inherent animosity towards Hindus, particularly Hindu women. It could also be argued that for a Muslim perpetrator, a Muslim girl would likely be more accessible than a Hindu girl. The fact that the perpetrator specifically targeted the Hindu girl suggests religious profiling of the victim. However, it is equally possible that the crime was one of opportunity, where the Hindu girl was simply accessible to the Muslim perpetrator. Nevertheless, this remains speculative, as the news report and FIR provide no clear indication of religious motivations. Moreover, neither the victim nor her family has made any statements suggesting that the crime was religiously motivated. For this reason, the case has been added to the 'Undecided' database. If further information emerges that hints towards a religiously motivated crime, then it would be reclassified and included under the Hate Crime database.