To combat this grave threat, many states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, and Karnataka, have enacted stringent laws that criminalise Love Jihad and other forms of illegal conversions; however, several incidents continue to emerge every other day from every nook and corner of the country where susceptible and vulnerable Hindu women are being targeted and exploited in the name of ‘love’.

OpIndia has consistently been at the forefront of reporting incidents in which vulnerable Hindu women are groomed to accept their own subjugation at the hands of Muslim men. Year after year, we have documented numerous such occurrences. Today, we would like to call attention to the innumerable instances of ‘Love Jihad’ or ‘Grooming Jihad’ that OpIndia documented in the year 2022.

Only this year, OpIndia reported as many as 153 daunting incidents of Love Jihad or Grooming Jihad as we like to call it because, evidently, there is no ‘Love’ in these crimes. In fact, there is no denying that it is a form of ‘Jihad’ in which Hindu girls are being trapped by Muslim men who later either forcefully convert them to Islam, push them into terrorism, groom them or murder and rape them.

While OpIndia has attempted to cover the Love Jihad topic extensively throughout the year and these numbers are surely alarming, it is just the tip of the iceberg. OpIndia has, over the year, mostly depended on secondary reports of such cases, as they appeared in local media. In some of the cases, OpIndia had spoken to the victim and perused the FIR as well. However, it must be borne in mind that this is not an analysis of Love Jihad cases throughout the nation. This is a compilation of the cases that OpIndia covered. There are several cases that we may have missed and hundreds that never got reported by the media.

There could be numerous such occurrences where the victims’ families do not report it due to fear of retaliation because the perpetrators might be coming from financially stronger and influential families or have strong political connections or the belief that it would bring disrepute to the family. Another key reason why many similar incidences do not reach the public eye is that, due to its obvious bias toward the minority community, the leftist mainstream media usually fails to consider such situations severe enough to cover.

In an ideal world of journalism and reporting, all crimes committed by individuals would be reported exactly as they occurred, with no attempt to manipulate the story. It is plentifully evident, nonetheless, that the Indian media does not operate in an ideal world and out of many, one of its main offences being its ability to either completely dismiss the crimes where the perpetrators belong to the minority community or “give a ‘Hindu spin’ to crimes committed by Muslims”.

In one such incident that exposed mainstream media's communal bias, a Times of India (TOI) report on an incident of Love Jihad that took place in Delhi, the name and identity of the Muslim accused were completely omitted. In the incident of Love Jihad, an e-rickshaw driver named Dilbar Qureshi trapped a 13-year-old Hindu girl in a love affair posing as a Hindu man and later eloped with her on October 18. Both the headline and the body of the report of the TOI have no mention of the name of the culprit Dilbar Qureshi. The TOI report merely says that a 13-year-old girl was kidnapped by a 25-year-old man and was rescued from Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh by the police.

OpIndia, on the other hand, has always attempted to bring forth the truth, no matter how harsh it may be. This report will undoubtedly resonate with many who have previously rejected the phenomenon of Love Jihad. We can only hope that this effort will inspire the leftist media and the ‘liberal’ intelligentsia to take the menace of Love Jihad (Grooming Jihad) far more seriously.

Analysis of the 153 cases covered by OpIndia

In this report, OpIndia has covered 153 cases. In these cases, we have kept our parameters narrow – Only cases with an explicit and clear religious angle.

In several of these cases that we have covered, Muslim men have hid their identity from the Hindu woman and coerced them into a relationship. In other cases, it has been seen that the Hindu woman and the Muslim man got into a relationship knowing each other’s religious identity, however, after the marriage, the husband started forcing the wife to convert to Islam. In several of these cases, it was seen that the woman was forced to wear Hijab, eat beef and Hindu idols were broken. In some other cases, the Muslim man had hidden the fact that he was already married and coerced the Hindu woman into marrying him.

Of the 153 cases, the highest number of cases that we documented were from Uttar Pradesh (65). The state that came second, in terms of cases, was Madhya Pradesh (37). Jharkhand came in third with 12 cases.

State wise breakdown of Love Jihad cases covered by OpIndia in 2022

In the cases covered by OpIndia, we also saw several minor victims in the cases covered. Out of the 153 cases, 125 cases were those with adult victims whereas 28 were minor victims.

Age wise breakdown of Love Jihad cases covered by OpIndia in 2022

Of the several categories of cases, there were 99 cases where the Muslim man hid his identity from the Hindu woman. In 6 cases, the Muslim man had hid the fact that he was already married.

Love Jihad cases where Muslim men hid their identity covered by OpIndia in 2022

In 153 cases, even with 6 cases, Muslim men hiding their marriage to lure a Hindu girl has emerged as a trend that Hindus need to be wary of.

In the 153 cases, we saw that in 22 of these cases, the Muslim man had either force fed beef to the Hindu woman, forced to wear a hijab or broken idols, stopping her from following her faith and converting to Islam. In 21 such cases, the Muslim man had threatened to make private videos public and in 3 cases, threatened the Hindu woman with beheading.

Cases of Love jihad where Hindu woman was tortured to convert to Islam

In all, the highest cases, of the 153 cases that OpIndia covered, took place in December. The lowest number of cases took place in February.

25 Love Jihad cases reported in December

Intezaar Khan pretends to be Sonu in UP, rapes victim on the pretext of marriage

A case of physical abuse of a young woman and love jihad has come up in Greater Noida on December 29. The accused lured the young woman by telling her the wrong name. The man named Intezaar Khan gave the woman a job as a manager in his gym and claimed his name was Sonu at that time. Following this, he raped her on the pretext of marriage.

Love Jihad in Bihar

In the latest case of Love or Grooming Jihad reported by OpIndia, Bihar Police on December 27th, 2022, booked a Muslim person named Mohammed Ijhar for posing himself as Rakesh Singh and luring a Hindu woman into a marriage. The accused also abused the woman and forced her to embrace Islam.

The incident came to the fore after Vishwa Hindu Parishad members in Samastipura were informed about a Hindu woman being harassed by a Muslim person who had lured her into marriage on false pretences.

Love Jihad in Indore

Another case of love jihad has come to light from Indore in Madhya Pradesh on December 27. Nabi Ansari is accused of raping a divorced Hindu woman by pretending to be Naveen. The victim has also complained of pressurizing and threatening to convert. Police registered a case and arrested Ansari from Mumbai on Sunday (24 December 2022).

Love Jihad in Delhi: Mohammad Imram coerces Hindu woman to divorce her husband, flees after raping her

On December 24, OpIndia reported that a Muslim teenager named Mohammad Imran enticed a married Hindu woman working in the IT sector in Delhi into a love affair. He then established a sexual relationship with her and forced her to divorce her former husband. The girl who had completely fallen into his trap filed for a divorce. Mohammad Imran disappeared on the day of the court hearing, leaving the girl stranded.

Imran, according to the victim, frequently urged her to email images of herself wearing a burqa. The victim stated that she previously believed that Hindu Muslims are no different, but now she firmly believes that there is a particular jihadi nexus that is operating to target Hindu girls.

Arbaaz poses as Ajju, Bajrang Dal hands over love jihad accused to Indore police

On December 23, in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, Bajrang Dal activists caught a young man accusing him of love jihad. The name of the Muslim youth is Arbaaz Khan. The members of the Hindu outfit caught the accused roaming around and indulging in obscene acts with a Hindu girl. Arbaaz Khan, at first introduced himself as Ajju, a Hindu. However, when the Hindu activists checked his Aadhar Card his true identity was revealed.

Faizan detained for entrapping Hindu minor in Indore

On Thursday (December 22) evening, the police detained a man named Mohammed Faizan who was found doing obscene acts with a Hindu teen at the Khajrana Ganesh temple in Indore city of Madhya Pradesh.

As per a report by Nai Dunia, Faizan had known the victim for the past 3 years. At that time, the teenager was studying in Class 9. The victim (now a student of Class 12) was being coerced into marriage by Faizan.

The accused is a resident of Lal Chowk and a mason by occupation. According to the report by Nai Dunia, Faizan lured the girl into his vicious trap on Valentine's Day this year. He had been forcing the teenager to get married by keeping her family in the dark.

"You will become a Muslim after marriage and offer Namaz," he had reportedly directed the Hindu girl. The matter came to light on Thursday evening when he called the victim to the Khajrana Ganesh temple.

Moin Khan poses as 'Monu Verma' to entrap a Hindu girl in MP

On December 21 OpIndia reported that in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, Bajrang Dal activists have caught a young man accusing him of love jihad. The name of the Muslim youth is Moin Khan. When the activists asked his name, Moin Khan introduced himself as Monu Verma, a Hindu. But soon he was exposed.

Shadab Khan poses as 'Raja', sexually assaults, harasses Hindu woman and pressurises for 'Nikah’

On December 20, a case of Love Jihad was reported from Ujjain city in the state of Madhya Pradesh. A 26-year-old Hindu woman alleged that 23-year-old Shadab Khan concealed his identity to establish a relationship with her, and then raped her for several months.

The woman in the complaint mentioned that she was sexually assaulted by the accused who hid his religious identity and was mentally torturing her for the past year after she knew about his truth. She said that the accused had himself confessed later that he was a Muslim and not a Hindu.

Kanpur love jihad

On December 19, news surfaced that the Kanpur police in Uttar Pradesh had apprehended a Muslim youth named Mohammad Waqar following a 750-kilometre chase. The culprit allegedly enticed a Hindu girl and was fleeing with her when police apprehended them on a bus bound for Surat. According to reports, Waqar intended to convert the Hindu girl to Islam and then marry her, but his evil intentions were thwarted when he was apprehended by Kanpur police.

Love Jihad in Prayagraj, UP

On the same day, it was reported that a 35-year-old woman from Prayagraj approached the police to file a complaint against one Muslim youth accusing him of cheating and rape. She accused him of forcing her to convert to Islam. The victim said that the accused hid his identity and befriended her on Facebook. One day, he took her to a different city on the pretext of taking her for a ride where his friends raped her and made obscene videos. The victim also alleged that the family members of the accused got her converted to Islam. She added that preparations were also being made to sell her to a broker in Agra when she somehow escaped.

Aaftab in Indore poses as Rahul, threatens to chop Hindu girl into 36 pieces after his identity is revealed

On December 18, a man was arrested for allegedly posing as a Hindu to befriend a girl and subsequently threatening to kill and chop her into 36 pieces in Madhya Pradesh's Indore. The accused who was identified as Aaftab posed as Rahul on social media to establish relations with the girl. According to the police, when the girl came to know the truth, Aaftab threatened to kill her and chop her into 36 pieces.

Nabeel becomes Naveen to befriend a Hindu woman, rapes and forces her to convert to Islam

A 42-year-old Hindu woman filed a case for rape against a Muslim youth and also accused him of pressurising her to marry him by converting to Islam. The victim said that the youth Nabeel joined the cafe, she worked in, as a chef by introducing himself as Naveen. One day Nabeel forcibly entered her house and raped her, and then he blackmailed her and raped her on several other occasions.

The woman said that Nabeel left to work in Mumbai in January this year. However, whenever he came, he pressurised her to convert and marry him. He also raped her during his visits. Nabeel allegedly also threatened the victim that he will harm her son if she does not agree.

Love Jihad in Gujarat

On December 18 OpIndia reported that a 20-year-old Hindu girl (name withheld) had filed a police complaint against a man named Asif Mammad Makrani for luring her using a fake name and then raping her in the Morbi district of Gujarat. Reportedly, the accused had introduced himself to the victim as a Hindu man Ashok. After luring her into his sinister plan, Asif took the girl to the Indiranagar area of Morbi and raped her multiple times. Asif had intimidated the victim into silence and threatened to kill her family members. He also forced her to sign on a blank piece of paper.

Saleem becomes Sonu Singh, rapes married Hindu woman and forces her to convert

On December 18, a case of love jihad came to light from the Fatehpur district of Uttar Pradesh. Here a married Hindu woman has accused a Muslim youth of kidnapping and raping her after changing her name. The name of the accused is Saleem, who pretended to be Sonu Singh to lure the victim.

Tribal woman killed, chopped into dozen pieces, husband Dildar Ansari nabbed

On December 17, a horrific incident came to light in Jharkhand when police arresteda man identified as Dildar Ansari in connection to the brutal murder of his wife, Rubika, a tribal woman. Dildar killed Rubika and chopped her body into 50 pieces using an electric cutter. As per reports, Dildar trapped 22-year-old Rubika into a love affair and did not disclose that he was previously married, the police revealed.

Love Jihad in Uttarakhand

On December 14, OpIndia reported that an accused named Saqib Saifi pretended to be Shiv Thakur, a resident of Bambagar, and befriended a Hindu woman in Nainital, Uttarakhand. Soon after the two came closer, the accused allegedly raped the victim and also pressed her to convert to Islam. The victim approached the police after she found out about the real identity of Saqib Saifi. Saifi along with his family members was allegedly tormenting the victim and had also threatened to kill her. Accused Saqib was also trying to groom the victim's younger sister

Prayagraj’s Nihal Ansari traps minor Hindu girl, sexually assaults and forces her to convert

The mother of a minor Hindu girl, who went missing, filed a missing complaint on December 13 accusing one Nihal Ansari of befriending her minor daughter by luring her with clothes and gifts. Thereafter the accused forced the girl to get into a physical relationship with him. He recorded the act and started blackmailing her with the video. He sexually assaulted the minor multiple times by threatening to post the video on social media.

Besides physically assaulting her, the accused forced the victim to convert her religion and marry him. Whenever the girl resented, the accused used to beat her up.

Muslim man in Bihar fakes identity by wearing a Kalawa to lure a Hindu woman into marriage

In the Siwan district of Bihar a Muslim man Kalimullah Sheikh, who owned a coaching centre where he taught English concealed his religious identity to marry a Hindu girl who was once a student at his centre. According to the victim, the man, who posed as Samir Khanna adorned all the Hindu rituals and the Hindu way of life. He also applied Tilak and wore Kalawa which is a sacred thread worn on wrists by people from the Hindu community to convince the victim that he was a Hindu.

Haseen Saifi uses fake documents as 'Ashish Thakur' to exploit a Hindu woman

On December 13, OpIndia reported how a man named Haseen Saifi deceitfully trapped a Hindu woman in an affair under a false Hindu name. Saifi had told the woman that he was Ashish Thakur to start a relationship and eventually sexually assaulted her.

Jharkhand: Aslam Khan poses as policeman Sanjay to trap Hindu minor girl

In Jharkhand's Bokaro district, a middle-aged man named Aslam Khan was marrying a Hindu minor girl while disguising himself as a Hindu man named Sanjay Kasera working in the police department. The wedding function was in progress and the Varmala was done when a labourer working at the venue identified Sanjay saying that he is not a Hindu and that his name is Aslam Khan. The labourer revealed that he was in jail with Aslam Khan.

Bajrang Dal hands over love jihad accused Irfan Sheikh to police

In Indore, Madhya Pradesh, Bajrang Dal activists had caught a young man accusing him of love jihad. The name of the Muslim youth is Irfan Sheikh. When caught, Irfan presented himself as a Hindu, but soon he was exposed. It is alleged that Irfan Sheikh used to tease Hindu girls while they came out of the local school and he would often molest them.

A photo of a minor Hindu girl was also found on Irfan's phone. Irfan Sheikh first told that this girl was his sister but later informed about marrying her. Irfan Sheikh has been handed over to the police.

Anwar Khan who pretended to be Annu to trap Hindu girl

On December 4, Indore police arrestedone Anwar Khan alias Annu for raping a Hindu girl student while concealing his identity and then blackmailing her. According to accounts, Anwar was also pressuring the victim girl student to convert to Islam.

Faridabad: Javed marries a Hindu girl after converting her to Islam

OpIndia reported on December 3 that a case was registered against a Muslim youth named Javed Khan and 8 others in Haryana’s Faridabad district. Dhiraj Kumar Shukla - the father of the victim- filed a complaint alleging Javed Khan forcefully converted his daughter and married her.

Notably, this was the first case registered under the Haryana Prevention of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill, 2022. The parents of the girl had said that it was clearly a case of love jihad and they are worried that their daughter will meet the same fate as Shraddha Walkar.

Minor Hindu girl abducted by one Aman Sheikh in Maharashtra

On December 2nd, 2022 we reported another case of Love Jihad where a minor Dalit girl was abducted by Aman Sheikh who posed himself as Amrut Khairnar to entrap the girl in a love affair. BJP's Dattatray Popatrao Khemnar had issued a letter to the Upper Superintendent of Police on November 30 saying that the girl was trapped by Aman Sheikh in a love affair under a fake Hindu name. He had introduced himself as Amrut Khairnar and had also arranged for fake identity documents including Aadhaar Card to make the victim girl believe that he was a Hindu.

Love Jihad in Maharashtra

In Maharashtra, a Muslim youth named Arshad Malik introduced himself as a Hindu person named Harshad Mali and then persuaded a Hindu woman to get married to him. He then got his father to rape and assault her for years.

The woman was given a new Islamic name and was forcefully converted to Islam. The family members of Arshad including his mother Taslim and sister Arsheen also began pressuring the woman to perform 'khatna' (circumcision) on her small son named Vivek. On refusing the family members physically assaulted her amid her pregnancy.

The victim had revealed that after the Shraddha Walkar murder case happened, Arshad and his father would issue her threats saying that "Aftab cut Shraddha into 35 pieces but we would cut you into 70 pieces."

22 Love Jihad cases reported in November

Love Jihad in Bihar

In Bihar, one Taufiq Alam pretended to be Raj Rajput to lure a Hindu woman Julie Kumari of Katihar into a love marriage. Once Julie knew the reality and resisted Taufiq, who was already married and had an 11-year-old daughter from his earlier marriage, he started forcing the victim woman to convert to Islam.

Khalib, Dr Jameela and Aiman booked for forcing a Hindu woman to convert to Islam

On November 29, the Mangaluru police booked three people for allegedly attempting to convert a girl to Islam against her will.

According to the victim’s allegations, one Khalib befriended her on the pretext of getting her a better job and compensation. After the girl started trusting him, Khalib introduced the victim to a woman who compelled her to perform namaz and read the Quran. She alleged they tried to convert her to Islam by force. The woman has also accused Khalib of assaulting her after taking her to the home of a relative.

According to the complaint, the victim, who is a resident of Mangaluru, was given a burqa, was told to change her name to Ayisha and was threatened to convert to Islam.

Shamim Khan arrested for sexual assault and forced conversion of a minor Hindu girl in MP

The Madhya Pradesh police, on November 28, arrested one Shamim Khan, a government school teacher, for sexual assault and forced conversion of a minor Hindu girl. Khan reportedly befriended a poor Hindu woman and converted her to Islam. He then molested the daughter of a Hindu woman, due to which she left her studies in class 11. He later pressurised her to convert to Islam following which she filed a complaint against him.

Kanpur: Md Faiz threatens minor girl to 'chop her into pieces', pressurises to perform ‘Nikah’

In UP's Kanpur, a person named Md Faiz has been arrested for stalking, harassing a minor girl, and then threatening to 'chop her into pieces' when she filed a police complaint against him on November 28. As per reports, Faiz is a history sheeter with several police cases against him. Faiz used to stalk and harass the minor girl. He was even pressuring her to perform 'Nikah' with him.

Gwalior Love Jihad

We reported another case of Love Jihad on November 26, 2022, wherein a Gwalior man Sohail Khan forcefully married and converted his Hindu live-in partner Sunita Jatav into Islam. He raped and assaulted her for worshipping Hindu deities. The woman was repeatedly forced by Sohail to follow Islamic rituals after which she lodged a police complaint at Bahodapur police station. The accused was arrested by the police.

Sameer Raza becomes Shyam to entrap Hindu girl, coerces her to convert to Islam

In yet another case of Love Jihad, a Muslim man named Sameer Raza created a fake ID named Shyam on the social media platform Snapchat. After this, he trapped a Hindu girl and tried to forcibly convert her to Islam. According to the report, Sameer Raza started chatting with the Hindu girl after befriending her under a fake name. Meanwhile, he asked the girl to send him some of her private pictures.

He then used those pictures to blackmail the victim. The accused not only pressurizing the student to convert to Islam and marry him as per Islamic rituals but also extorted money from her.

Love jihad in Lucknow: Salman hides his religious entity to trap minor Hindu girl, rapes and kidnaps her

On November 23, OpIndia reported a case of love Jihad from Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh. Here a young Muslim man hid his religious identity and trapped a minor Hindu girl. Then the accused kidnapped her at knifepoint and forcibly converted her and then took her to Haryana and raped her repeatedly while forcefully marrying her by threatening to bury her alive if she did not give in to his demands.

Nasir poses as Sameer Prajapati to entrap Hindu girl, calls friends to gang-rape her

In Ahmedabad, one Nasir Hussain posed as Sameer Prajapati to befriend a Hindu girl, OpIndia reported on November 23, 2022. Nasir Hussain Ghanchi continued to have physical relations with the girl repeatedly. In the meantime, he also took videos of the girl so that she would not inform anyone about it. Apart from this, Nasir also demanded Rs 5 lakh from her for not making the videos viral.

Narrating the pains she suffered, the victim girl said that once Nasir had brought two of his friends to the flat with him and tied a bandage over her eyes and the trio gang-raped her together.

A case under sections of rape and love jihad was registered at the Vastrapur police station in this regard.

Yunus Pasha blackmails and rapes a minor Hindu girl, forces her to convert to Islam

On November 23, in Mandya's Nagamangala town in Karnataka, a married Muslim man was arrested under Karnataka's anti-conversion act and POCSO for raping a minor Hindu girl and forcing her to convert to Islam. Yunus was accused of sexually assaulting the girl, taking her nude photos and using them to blackmail her. He also forced the Hindu girl to convert to Islam promising her marriage.

Ansari becomes Sonu to entrap a Hindu girl, reveals identity after sexually assaulting her

On November 22, a case of love jihad was reported in a locality falling under the Nagar Panchayat Obra of the Obra police station area in the Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh, where a Muslim youth befriended a Hindu woman by concealing his religious identity and repeatedly raped. The victim said that the youth had introduced himself as SK Sonu. He came to her house at night, and raped her on promises to marry her When she came to know that he was a Muslim, she refused and filed a complaint against the accused.

50-year-old Shahenshah Alam arrested for luring a Hindu girl into a relationship by faking his identity

On November 22, a 50-year-old Muslim man was arrested in Kanpur on charges of luring a Hindu girl into a relationship through social media by faking his identity. The accused, Shahenshah Alam introduced himself as Sachin Sharma and lured the victim into a relationship. He then called her to a hotel room by promising to marry her and get a job for her in Kanpur, where he tried to molest her. She raised an alarm after which the hotel staff alerted the police.

Maulvi tells depressed woman she is possessed by a 'Jinn', gets her to marry Firoz who rapes, blackmails her

On November 22 reports emerged that a Muslim man named Firoz lured a Hindu woman, raped her, and then blackmailed her and her family for money. The victim woman used to stay in the neighbourhood of prime accused Firoz. He, with the help of a Maulvi convinced her that she was passed and got a Nikahnama signed from her.

Muslim woman Sana lures Dipak Sonawane, her family circumcizes Dipak

In another interfaith relationship that surfaced in Maharashtra on 18th November 2022, a Dalit neo-Buddhist youth Dipak Sonawane accused the family of his Muslim girlfriend Sana of torturing him. The victim had revealed how he was circumcised, threatened and beaten up by his girlfriend’s family which was forcing him to convert to Islam. Dipak Sonawane has also given a detailed account of how he was extorted by these Islamists and how they hurled casteist abuse at him. He also alleged that the Islamists in the family of his Muslim girlfriend have received constant support from the influential local MP Imtiaz Jaleel at every step in this matter.

Muslim man arrested for forcing Hindu wife to convert to Islam

On November 18, the Indore police arrested a 32-year-old Muslim manfor forcing his Hindu wife to convert to Islam. The accused was identified as Rubab Shah. In her complaint, the accused's wife stated that she met the man while working in a private hospital and was "trapped" into getting married to the accused in 2015. She said that her husband's attitude towards her turned hostile three years after their marriage when she had a daughter. According to the complaint, he then forced her to convert to Islam.

Mehmood Khan poses as Raunak Chaurasiya to trap a Hindu girl

In yet another shocking case of love jihad and forced religious conversionreported on November 18 in Uttar Pradesh's Baharaich, Mehmood Khan, posed as Raunak Chaurasia and lured a Hindu girl. Following that, he sexually abused the girl for two years, recorded her private video, and blackmailed her.