Kashmiri Muslim man with links to ISI married Hindu women under false identities, forced conversions suspected

Case ID : f5a7416 | Location : Jajpur, Odisha, India | Date of Incident : Sat, 16 December, 2023

Case ID : f5a7416

Jajpur, Odisha, India

16 December, 2023

Kashmiri Muslim man with links to ISI married Hindu women under false identities, forced conversions suspected

Predatory Proselytisation

Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination

Pattern of targeting Hindus

Case Summary

The Odisha Crime Branch’s Special Task Force (STF) had been investigating a case against Kashmiri fraudster Sayed Ishaan Bukhari, who was apprehended in the Jajpur district of Odisha. During the probe, STF discovered some evidence concerning Bukhari’s 'love jihad' motivation for marrying multiple girls in various parts of the country. Bukhari had married at least six to seven girls while posing as an Army Doctor, a PMO officer, and a close associate of some high-ranking NIA officials. STF agents also seized a DVD containing an audio recording of Bukhari’s conversation with some terror suspects in Kerala. He was heard saying that he would recruit young men to be deputed in foreign countries. On 17th December 2023, the STF arrested Bukhari from the Jajpur district.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been categorised under two prime categories of the tracker. The first is- Predatory proselytisation and under this, the sub-category chosen is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination. Further, based on the details, a tertiary category has also been selected here, which is- Pattern of targeting Hindu women/minors. Religious brainwashing essentially means the often subtle and forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up their religious beliefs to accept contrasting regimented ideas. Religious grooming or brainwashing also involves propaganda and manipulation. It involves the systematic effort, driven by religious malice and indoctrination, to persuade “non-believers’ to accept allegiance, command, or doctrine to and of a contrasting faith. Cases of such grooming or brainwashing are far more nuanced than direct threats, coercion, inducement and violence. In such cases, it is often seen that there is repeated, subtle and continual manipulation of the victim to induce disaffection towards their own faith and acceptance of the contrasting faith of the perpetrator. While subtle indoctrination is widely acknowledged as predatory, an element which is often understated in such conversions or the attempts of such conversion is the role of loyalty and trust which might develop between the perpetrator and the victim. Fiduciary relationships are often abused to affect such religious conversion. For example, an educator transmitting religious doctrine of a competing faith to a Hindu student. The Hindu student is likely to accept what the teacher is transmitting owing to existence of the fiduciary relationship. The exploitation of the fiduciary relationship to religiously indoctrinate victims would also be included in this category. Since the underlying animosity towards the victim’s faith forms the basis of predatory proselytization, such cases are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. The second category under which this case has been placed is- Terrorism, within which the sub-category selected is- Recruiting for terror org. In this case, the Odisha Crime Branch’s Special Task Force (STF) arrested Kashmiri fraudster Sayed Ishaan Bukhari, uncovering a disturbing nexus of deceit and exploitation. Besides his alleged terror links, officials found compelling evidence of Bukhari's "love jihad" motivation, highlighting a targeted pattern of predatory behaviour. Bukhari had married at least six to seven women across the country, using false identities such as an Army Doctor, a PMO officer, and a close associate of senior NIA officials to manipulate and groom his victims. His actions reveal a systematic targeting of Hindu women and minors, making this case a clear example of religiously motivated predatory proselytisation. The deliberate use of grooming, manipulation, and false identity underscores the insidious nature of these conversion tactics, which aim to exploit trust and vulnerability for religious motives. Such actions arise from an intrinsic animosity towards Hindus and their faith, reflecting a broader pattern of hostility and calculated attempts to undermine their religious identity and for this reason, this case has been added to the tracker.