[Want even more content from FPM? Sign up for FPM+ to unlock exclusive series, virtual town-halls with our authors, and more—now for just $3.99/month. Click here to sign up.]
In one of our previous reports, we provided a detailed account of a case involving a large-scale sexual exploitation scandal in India, in which Muslim gangs reportedly victimized approximately 250 female students between the ages of 11 and 20 through blackmail and assault.
The incidents, which unfolded over several years and ended in 1992, were orchestrated by men from a prominent, politically well-connected Muslim family. Hindu girls were reportedly lured to secluded locations, where they were assaulted and forced into silence through blackmail. Some of the affected individuals tragically took their own lives.
Decades later, concerns about crimes against Hindu minors by Muslims persist in India. On Monday, February 17, local police in Bewar district, Rajasthan, uncovered a case involving a group of Muslims involved in the sexual exploitation and blackmail of minors. Investigations revealed that a group of Muslim youth working as laborers targeted school-age girls, assaulting and blackmailing them. They trapped one girl and then forced her to introduce other girls to the group, leading to a systematic entrapment of multiple minors. The group members gave these young girls mobile phones in order to lure them into a friendship, subsequently engaging in inappropriate communications through chats before escalating to more severe forms of exploitation. If any girl attempted to break free, they were reportedly blackmailed into compliance.
The victims also allege that these miscreants took compromising photos and videos of the victims, which were then used as leverage to maintain control over them. Some victims have also stated that they were pressured to recite kalma (Islamic professions of faith), keep rozas (the Islamic religious fasts), and adopt Islam. The local police have also corroborated the claims of rape and attempts of forced religious conversions.
Following complaints from the families of five victims, three FIRs were registered at the Vijay Nagar police station under relevant legal provisions, including those related to sexual exploitation, rape, stalking, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Police have detained seven individuals who are identified as Sohail Mansuri (19), Arman Pathan (19), Sahil Qureshi (19), Rihan Mohammad (20), Shoaib (20), and two juveniles whose identities have not been disclosed.
Cases of crimes against Hindu minors by Muslims are not limited to Rajasthan. Similar incidents have been reported in other states, underscoring the threat cast by religious fanatics on Hindu girls throughout the country.
On January 8, a woman in Surayawa, Uttar Pradesh, filed an FIR against a 25-year-old individual named Samjad, a mason, for allegedly abducting her 15-year-old daughter. Upon investigation, the police tracked the accused to Murshidabad, West Bengal. Working with local authorities, the police conducted a raid, rescued the girl, and arrested the suspect. The victim has also accused him of sexual assault. Investigations have revealed that Samjad’s father, Abdul Qasim, was also involved in the abduction. Both were brought back to Uttar Pradesh, and the girl was reunited with her family. Officials have conducted medical examinations and recorded the victim’s statement, with additional charges being considered under the POCSO Act.
Murshidabad, where the arrest took place, is a Muslim-majority area that has been a challenging area for law enforcement in the past. On April 10, 2021, Bihar Police Inspector Ashwini Kumar, then the station in charge of Kishanganj police station, led a raid in the Panjipoda police station area of West Bengal. During the operation, an enraged Muslim mob surrounded and brutally attacked him, and ultimately lynched him to death.
Concerns about Muslim crimes against minors are not limited to lower socioeconomic groups. Even professionals in respected fields have been implicated in serious offenses. In a recent case from the Matigara area in Darjeeling, West Bengal, a dentist named Minnat Hossain was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl. According to reports, the dentist approached the child when she was alone on the afternoon of February 15, initiated a conversation, and convinced her to visit his clinic under the pretext of cleaning her teeth. Once inside, he is said to have sexually assaulted her. The minor managed to escape and informed her parents about the incident. Her mother subsequently registered a complaint with the local police, leading to Hossain’s arrest; investigations into the incident are underway.
Residents in some areas have revealed their worries about an increase in anti-Hindu crimes, citing murders, theft, and instances of Love Jihad on Hindu girls, which have become frequent since large numbers of people of a “certain community” from Bihar have started to immigrate to the Matigara and its environs.