Minor Hindu girl abducted for conversion and Nikah by Muslim youth in Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad

Case ID : f66464d | Location : Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, India | Date of Incident : Thu, 13 February, 2025

Case ID : f66464d

Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, India

13 February, 2025

Minor Hindu girl abducted for conversion and Nikah by Muslim youth in Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad

Predatory Proselytisation

Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination

Family claims grooming

Case Summary

In the Sonakpur area of Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad district, a Muslim youth identified as Dilshad abducted a minor Hindu girl studying in class 10. The accused Muslim youth was harassing the girl for quite some time before he abducted her. The next day after the minor Hindu girl went missing, the 17-year-old Hindu girl’s father lodged a complaint against Dilshad accusing him of luring the girl to flee with him and marry him. The complainant demanded strict action against the accused. In his complaint, Sauram Singh said, “On 11th February 2025 at around 8:30 am, my daughter left for her school, however, she did not reach there. After this we searched for her, however, she could not be found.” The complaint further stated that the Hindu girl’s family said that the accused lured the girl to elope with him on the pretext of marriage. Local Hindu organisations organised a protest and demanded action against the absconding Muslim accused.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category of- Predatory Proselytisation. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Proselytisation by grooming, brainwashing, manipulation or subtle indoctrination and the tertiary category chosen is- Family claims grooming. 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. This case bears a distinct religious marker, categorising it as a hate crime against a Hindu minor. Here, the family of the victim filed a complaint against the Muslim accused Dilshad accusing him of luring the girl to flee with him and perform Nikah with him. The fact that the victim was a minor, indicates a lack of consent and a genuine change of conscience. It is a well-established fact that children are more susceptible to manipulation since they are still developing emotionally, cognitively, and socially. Their brains are not fully matured, making them more vulnerable to influence and less capable of critically evaluating information. Moreover, subtle manipulation tactics can be difficult to detect, especially when employed by trusted authority figures in positions of influence. This makes it challenging for parents, to identify and address instances of religious manipulation. Consequently, cases involving religious manipulation of minors not only represent an infringement on an individual's religious freedom but also demonstrate a calculated strategy of targeting those who are less able to resist or understand the long-term implications of conversion, making it a significant case of religious-motivated hate crime. For this reason, this case has been added to the tracker.