Hindu woman assaulted at home by Muslims for resisting forced religious conversion
Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, India 
31 March, 2025
Case Summary
A woman residing in the Dargah area accused three men from Gullaveer Colony of raping her, pressuring her to convert her religion, and assaulting her when she refused to settle the matter. The victim submitted a letter to the Superintendent of Police (SP), seeking protection. She also said that the accused had threatened to kill her and her son if she did not convert. In her complaint to the SP, the woman named Aslam, Fateh Khan, and Mohammad Irfan as the perpetrators. She stated that following the incident, a case had been registered against the three at the Dargah police station, leading to Aslam’s arrest and imprisonment. However, the other two accused remained at large. According to the victim, Aslam was released on bail after three months and subsequently started harassing her, pressuring her to withdraw the case. She further stated that on 1st April, all three accused had entered her house and physically assaulted her. While the Dargah police had registered a case against the accused under various sections, no arrests had been made so far. The woman also said that Aslam had coerced her into marriage and had tried to force her to convert. She said that he had threatened to kill her and her son if she did not comply. Seeking justice, she urged the SP to take strict action against the perpetrators.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the primary category- Crimes against women in relationships and other sexual crimes. The first 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, 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. The second 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 third 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 fourth sub-category relevant here is- Rape for refusal to convert. When Hindu women are in a relationship with non-Hindu men, there are cases where the woman faces pressure/threats/violence to convert and change her religious identity 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 pressuring the Hindu woman to convert. In some of these cases, the association could be non-consensual as well or, the religious identity of the non-Muslim man could be previously unknown to the Hindu victim. As the case may be, in such cases, the non-Hindu man forces himself sexually on the Hindu woman when she refuses his advances and pressures to convert her religion. The rape of the woman is often seen as either a punishment for the woman refusing to convert. Such cases are driven by specific religious motivations and against the religious identity of the victim and are therefore qualified as hate crimes. The second prime category selected is- Attacked not resulting in death. The sub-category selected is- Attacked for refusal to convert. When there is pressure, threat or coercion employed upon the Hindu victim to convert to a different religion, in several cases, the victim refuses to succumb to the pressure/threats. Once the victim refuses, the perpetrator proceeds to attack/assault the victim owing to his/her refusal to convert. In such cases, the pressure/threat/intimidation/coercion/violence itself is driven by animosity towards the victim’s Hindu faith. The violence then is another hate crime driven by the victim’s refusal to abandon his professed faith, Hinduism, and convert to the religion of a non-Hindu perpetrator. Since the victim’s faith is at the heart of the pressure to convert and the ensuing violence towards the victim, such cases are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. This case exhibits multiple religious markers that clearly establish it as a religiously motivated crime specifically targeting a Hindu victim. In this instance, there is no specific element of the Muslim accused hiding his identity. In such cases, the woman, in all probability, is made to believe that her faith would not stand in the way of their relationship. Here too, the Hindu women must have taken the accused’s word for it. However, his true intentions were exposed when he began pressuring her to convert to Islam. The accused started threatening the victim and her child with death and sexually assaulted her as a form of punishment for refusing to convert to Islam, a crime rooted in religious motivations rather than personal animosity alone. The attempt to forcibly change her religious identity by using violence as a tool demonstrates a targeted attack against her faith. The victim was not only violated but also pressured to abandon her faith, which adds a deeper layer of religiously motivated violence. Additionally, the victim was physically assaulted when she refused to comply with the demand for conversion. The perpetrators used threats, intimidation, and violence to force her to change her religion. Since the perpetrators' core intent was to force the victim to abandon her Hindu faith, and resorted to extreme violence when she refused, the crime was motivated by religious hatred and coercion, making it a clear case of religiously motivated hate crime and warranting its inclusion in the tracker.
Victim Details
Total Victim
2
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 1
- Female 1
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 2
Age Group
- Minor 1
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
