Yet another case of grooming jihad using a fake Hindu identity, sexual and financial exploitation, followed by forced conversion-nikah of a teenage Hindu girl has come to light, this time from Fatehpur district of Uttar Pradesh. And as is often the case, the girl has now been abandoned, with the accused Islamist making the chilling remark, “By converting you into Islam I got the spiritual benefit equal to going on Haj once, now you are of no use to me.” He also reportedly said, “by bringing a Brahmin Hindu girl into Islam, I am assured Jannat”.
Another depressing aspect is the systemic apathy such victims face from police of our ‘secular’ Republic and from society at large. As per an Organiser report dated March 15, police had yet to take appropriate action in the case.
Sneha Mishra (name changed to protect her identity) met a man through social media in 2021 when she was just 17. He introduced himself as Raju Mishra, working at a steel supply factory in Surat, Gujarat. He came to Fatehpur to meet Sneha and after a few meetings, he took her to his house where he intoxicated/drugged and then raped her.
When she regained consciousness, he professed his ‘love’ for her and revealed his true identity, Rashid Khan. He threatened to make public her nude photos/videos if she did not give in to his demands.
The scared minor did as she was told. He continued digitally blackmailing and sexually exploiting her. Khan then asked her to arrange Rs 4 lakhs, promising to return the money in 3 months. The girl somehow got the money. When her father found out, Khan signed an undertaking stating in case he fails to return the amount they could sell his car. But till date, neither has the money been returned, nor his car handed over.
As her relationship with her parents deteriorated, the minor left her home and started living with Khan at his parents house in Fatehpur. When she insisted her marry her, they said she and Rahid should first go and live in Rashid. Khan then took her to Surat where he impregnated her twice, forcing her to undergo abortion both times.
When she again insisted on marriage, Khan said he would marry her only is she converts to Islam.
A maulvi was called and Sneha was made to read the Kalma and became Mahi Khan to marry Rashid Khan. After the ‘nikah’, when Rashid took her to his parent’s house in Fatehpur they force-fed her beef saying only after eating it can she be a ‘true Muslim’. They gave her a copy of the Quran and asked her to do namaz. She was told to wear only Punjabi suits and cover her head with a hijab mandatorily.
In Surat, whenever the victim asked for her parent’s money to be returned, Khan would leave home for 2-3 days. He would taunt her saying, “If I would have married a Muslim woman, her family would have given me dahej (dowry), what have you brought?” He was physically abusive towards her and also performed unnatural sex against her wishes. Even on her periods, he would ask her to have sex with him saying, ‘A Muslim woman can never say no to her husband’.
In February 2023, after an argument, he left her after saying, “Tujhe Islam me laakar mujhe ek Haj ka sawab mil gaya hai, ab tu kisi kaam ki nahi. Mai tujhe nahi rakhunga”(by bringing you into Islam, I have earned spiritual benefit equal to one Haj pilgrimage. Now you are of no use to me, I will not keep you).
After he abandoned her in Surat, she went to his parent’s house in Fatehpur looking for him. They did not allow her inside and threatened her with dire consequences. They also gloated about how converting a ‘Kaafir’ Hindu to Islam had earned them ‘Ek Haj ka Sawab’. As her own family had severed all ties with her, Sneha then turned to police.
They called Rashid’s father who promised that he will take his daughter-in-law home. After reaching home he said, “The police officer is asking for money, you are asking for money, my son is not at home. How am I supposed to keep you here when you are fighting against us?” The same night he threw her out of the house.
Sneha told journalist Subhi Vishwakarma that the police were not ready to take her complaint. On March 13, when she reached the Khakhreru police station of Fatehpur district, she met some local Hindu activists who helped highlight the matter in the media.
Sneha is now asking for justice and seeks action against Rashid Khan who exploited her sexually and financially, besides assaulting and torturing her. She shared two Aadhaar Cards belonging to the accused, one with the name Rashid Khan and the other with the name Raju Mishra.
In case after case of Islamists, including illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya immigrants, faking Hindu identity, we see this pattern of fake Aadhar and other ID cards being acquired with ease. If this doesn’t convince our elites of the need for an NRC exercise, nothing ever will.
This case calls for immediate action under IPC 376 (rape), 377 (unnatural relation), 506 (criminal intimidation) and sections of the Uttar Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act. But apathy towards Hindu suffering is a feature of the ‘secular’ Indian state and its different institutions, despite UP having a hard taskmaster like Yogi Adityanath at the helm.