On 31st December 2022, Twitter restored the popular non-leftist Indian history account TrueIndology. The account had been suspended and restored several times in the past, and it was last suspended arbitrarily on Wednesday, 16th November 2022. While no reason was cited at the time of its suspension, it is notable that the account has been restored after Elon Musk took over as the CEO of Twitter. Elon Musk had promised to provide amnesty to such suspended accounts.
Author Anand Ranganathan confirmed the comeback of the popular Twitter handle that shares posts about Indian history, archaeology, literature, linguistics, and theology. Anand Ranganathan tweeted, “Welcome back, TrueIndology. The best new year’s gift one could have hoped for. The endgame for quack Leftists and Velcro Historians has commenced. Please follow TI in large numbers – it has only 650 followers right now; make it 650,000. I can confirm it is the original. Thanks.”
Welcome back, @TrueIndology. The best new year’s gift one could have hoped for. Endgame for quack Leftists and Velcro Historians has commenced.
Please follow TI in large numbers – it has only 650 followers right now; make it 650,000. I can confirm it is the original. Thanks.
Within hours of Anand Ranganathan’s tweet, the number of followers of the TrueIndology Twitter handle crossed the 150000 mark. Anand Ranganathan also conducted a poll on his account about reinstating the Twitter handle of TrueIndology. The poll received an overwhelming response and its results were retweeted by Twitter users tagging the Twitter head of trust and safety Ella Irwin. Replying to one such tweet about TrueIndology, she tweeted, “We certainly appreciate the passion surrounding specific accounts. There is a lot to review and it will take approximately 30 days to get through all accounts. TrueIndology is coming up for review, but we don’t move someone to the front of the line based on the number of tweets they get.” However, the TrueIndology account was restored after a few hours of this tweet.
We certainly appreciate the passion surrounding specific accounts. There are a lot to review and it will take ~30 days to get through all accounts. @trueindology is coming up for review, but we don’t move someone to the front of the line based on number of tweets they get.
It is notable that ever since Elon Musk has taken over Twitter, the policies regarding the suspension of accounts and reinstating suspended accounts have undergone a major shift. Elon Musk had promised that the banned accounts will regain their amnesty once his team takes control of Twitter operations.
Accordingly, on 17th December 2022, Twitter Safety tweeted, “We’ve identified several policies where the permanent suspension was a disproportionate action for breaking Twitter rules. We recently started reinstating accounts that were suspended for violations of these policies and plan to expand to more accounts weekly over the next 30 days.”
We’ve identified several policies where permanent suspension was a disproportionate action for breaking Twitter rules. We recently started reinstating accounts that were suspended for violations of these policies and plan to expand to more accounts weekly over the next 30 days.
It said in the next tweet, “We remain fully committed to preventing harmful content and bad actors. Reinstated accounts still need to comply with our rules and the permanent suspension remains an enforcement action for serious violations.”
We remain fully committed to preventing harmful content and bad actors. Reinstated accounts still need to comply with our rules and permanent suspension remains an enforcement action for serious violations: https://t.co/8izIAjTdwS
The TrueIndology account is very popular and has thousands of followers. The person behind the account is a meticulous fact-checker who corrects wrong and distorted claims often pushed as history mostly by left-liberals and cites actual sources to debunk myths and leftist propaganda on Indian history.
On Saturday (December 31), The Times of India (TOI) published an article wherein it claimed that 3 army officials were arrested on Friday (December 30) by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the charges of bribery.
The contentious piece, bearing no byline, alleged that the arrested officials included an accounts officer, Ram Roop Meena(a junior translator), and Shankar Khushwana (an integrated financial advisor) of the South Western Command of the Indian Army.
The report further claimed that the arrests were made in Jaipur and cash totalling ₹40 lakhs was recovered in the raids at multiple locations by the central agency. Besides, it said that properties and incriminating documents were also seized by the CBI.
Screengrab of the news report by The Times of India
The Times of India reported that four other individuals, namely, Sunil Kumar (Haryana), Prabjinder Singh (Rajasthan), Dinesh Jindal (Punjab), and Rajendra Singh (Jaipur) were also arrested in connection to the case.
The English daily claimed that all 7 accused were produced before a court in Panchkula. Quoting a CBI spokesperson RC Joshi, TOI said, “It was alleged that the accused belonging to three private firms were obtaining all work related to outsourcing of conservancy services for various locations in South Western Command.”
“To get undue favour in the award of the said work in violation of the provisions and payment for their bills without objections, these firms were giving bribes to the officials,” the official further added.
TOI quoted RC Joshi as saying, “It was further alleged that the said IFA, in connivance with the AO, the junior translator and a private person of a Jaipur-based company, who was acting as a middleman for the public servants, was demanding and obtaining illegal gratification from the private contractors.”
ADGPI refuses claims by The Times of India
The Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADGPI) Department of the Indian army has rubbished the claims made by the English daily.
In a tweet, ADGPI clarified, “Misleading Article. It is clarified that “NO Army official has been arrested” as mentioned in this article in the Times of India, Jaipur Edition of 31 December 2022.”
It further added, “TOI is requested to ensure due editorial diligence to prevent such grave errors in the future.” This is however not the first time when the English daily was found peddling fake news.
‘Misleading Article’
It is clarified that “NO Army official has been arrested” as mentioned in this article in the Times of India, Jaipur Edition of 31 December 2022.
Recently, The Times of India courted controversy for confusing ‘reel life’ Charles Sobhraj with the real one. The Dehradun edition of the paper published a photograph of Randeep Hooda for a news report about the release of ‘bikini killer’ Charles Sobhraj.
The photograph used by TOI was a still from a Bollywood movie named ‘Main Aur Charles’ in which Hooda played the role of Charles Sobhraj.
On Saturday, thousands of Muslim residents in Haldwani staged a protest on December 28 against the clearance of illegal encroachments on railway land in accordance with a High Court ruling. The demonstrators claimed that removing the illegal encroachments would make them homeless.
The protesters also claimed that the clearance of encroachments would affect a large number of women, children, and elderly persons residing in the area. One such video of the said protest was shared by Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair, who alleged that the government’s move would render around 4,500 families, who have illegally encroached railway land in Haldwani, homeless. He also said that the Haldwani encroachers (majority Muslims) were organizing ‘peaceful protests’ in the area wondering where they would move with their families if their homes were destroyed.
Mohammed Zubair, infamous for dogwhistling against former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma that spawned ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’ protests across India, extended his support to the protest led by thousands of squatters against the court-directed action to remove encroachments from the railway land in the Banbhoolpura city.
WHY IS NATIONAL MEDIA NOT COVERING THIS. Close to 4500 families in #Haldwani on the verge of being Homeless in the name of railway encroachment, Thousands of people including women and children hit the streets to register their peaceful protest against the High court order. pic.twitter.com/uCwCYeFzgh
“It’s time to speak up for the people of Haldwani. Amplify their voices. Media is supposed to be the voice of the people, but unfortunately, Indian media has become Govt Mouthpiece. Not one Nation Media has reported this protest,” he tweeted, adding hashtags ‘Stand With People Of Haldwani’ and ‘Speak Up For People Of Haldwani’.
He also shared several videos of the protest in which girls sitting in the protest claimed that they were law students and that they were protesting for their basic rights.
“We are standing against the High Court’s decision to remove our houses from here. There are around 4635 houses in the Haldwani area where more than 50000 people reside in. Where will we go? This decision of the Court is not in favor of the public,” said Inus, who wasn’t adorning burqa and the who claimed that she was pursuing law.
Meanwhile, another girl said that she was desperate to attend the school and make her future but the government was meddling with her plans by ‘snatching’ away her school and her home.
“Humare school nahi tutne chahiye, school tuk Gaye toh hum padhenge kaise, hume siksha kaise milegi, humara future barbaad hojayega” Says a School Kid. #haldwanipic.twitter.com/J4fdJzQlV3
“Why is National media silent, There were 20-25 thousand people in the protest. This shows that the National media is also scared to cover the protest. ‘Fourth Pillar Of Democracy’ doesn’t fit National media. They shouldn’t be scared of the govt but speak for the people instead,” said Zubair in yet another tweet, branding illegal encroachers squatting on railway land as victims of the court’s eviction orders.
Several Muslim social media users also posted the video of the protests and alleged that the government was making around 50,000 people homeless by ‘destroying’ the houses of people who have been staying in the area for decades. “In Haldwani, thousands of families are being destroyed in the name of removing the encroachment at the railway land. In the incident, 50,000 people will be made homeless,” said Umair Siddiqui, a local Muslim resident on Facebook.
Also, Aarfa Khanam, a Congress politician and prominent attorney from Delhi, went live on Facebook to discuss the issue. She said that the state’s Bharatiya Janata Party administration is targeting the region because the majority of the population in the area is Muslim. “We respect the judiciary. But what kind of justice is this that you make fifty thousand people homeless but you didn’t make any arrangements for their rehabilitation” Khanam said.
The demonstrators are being supported by Congress MLA Sumit Hridayesh and Samajwadi Party in-charge Abdul Matin Siddiqui and general secretary Shoeb Ahmad. Notably, the matter in which Zubair and several other Muslim leaders have raised their voices is the matter of illegal encroachment of the railway land in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani area.
According to the reports, around 4000 families, the majority of whom are Muslims have been staying in the area for decades on the 29 acres of railway land that has been encroached upon by the residents. For years, railway authorities have contended that encroachment is impeding growth and expansion efforts.
However, on December 27, a strategy was developed to eliminate encroachments on railway land in the Banbhoolpura district. The master plan was developed during a high-level meeting involving administrative authorities and ADRM railways in response to a recent Uttarakhand High Court ruling for the elimination of encroachments.
The High Court ordered eviction of unauthorized residents
The Uttarakhand High Court had recently ordered the authorities to evict forthwith the unauthorized occupants to vacate the premises from the railway land adjoining Haldwani Railway Station, commonly called Gaffur Basti. Accordingly, the action was initiated on December 29 after providing residents with a one-week prior notice.
Further, in accordance with the court ruling, residents of the Banbhoolpura area in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani who live on encroached railway land were also asked to surrender their licensed weapons and guns with the administration before the process of removing encroachments began.
The issue over railway land encroachment in the Haldwani area dates back to 2007 when railway officials conducted eviction operations for land segmentation and clearance of encroachment. It did, however, result in fights and arson, as well as demonstrations and stone-pelting.
On July 27, 2021, the North Eastern Railways delivered over 1,000 eviction notices to Banbhoolpura residents, instructing them to vacate their homes within 15 days. In April, over 500 people received similar notices, while 1,581 people received identical notices in January. The tenants then contended that the continuous distribution of eviction notices was done only to annoy them while the case was still in court.
The Uttarakhand High Court had previously asked the North Eastern Railway administration to remove encroachments on railway land in an order dated November 9, 2016. In the aftermath of the ruling, about 4,365 notifications were issued in that year. After dismissing the state’s review plea, the court ordered the expulsion of informal settlers within four weeks in January 2017. The Supreme Court, however, postponed the ruling for three months, citing the fact that the High Court had not heard the petitioners before issuing the eviction order.
Families facing eviction seeking ownership rights and resettlement of residents
Families facing eviction have been arguing that the land belongs to the Haldwani Municipal Corporation (HMC) as opposed to the Railways. Some claim long-standing occupancy, stating that they have lived in the region since independence and so the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act of 1971 does not apply to them. Others allege that the property was given to them by the state, while others claim that they bought it at a public auction. However, the counsel representing those facing eviction had alleged in the past that there is a land ownership issue between the Railways and the state, in addition to the demarcation of the land not being complete.
Residents in the Gaffur Basti region have been seeking ownership rights, regularization, the installation of sewage lines, hospitals, and the resettlement of people. They claimed that because the HMC owns 75% of the property, the delineation should be done jointly by the corporation and the railways. They further argued in February this year, that the Railways should only evict those who live on its territory.
‘Encroachment is impeding growth and expansion efforts’: Railways
The Railways meanwhile have maintained that the encroachment is impeding growth and expansion efforts. Several requests for increasing railway tracks in the region, according to the railway officials, were previously submitted to the government but were thwarted due to encroachment. A proposal to build pit lines was received a few years ago, but it was shelved owing to a shortage of area caused by encroachment.
Officials anticipate that eliminating the encroachment will allow longer-distance trains to operate from the Haldwani railway station, resulting in higher revenue for the railways and more accessible travel for the general population.
The High Court in May this year noted that none of the Haldwani residents had authorized documents proving that the land in question belonged to them.
On December 26, the Court directed the Railway Administration “to initiate an inquiry in order to check the extent of the land boundaries and its verification, and after the encroachers being removed after the aforesaid action, the Railway Administration, would ensure that a proper fencing of the railway property is made by the Railway Administration, and would also ensure by deployment of necessary Forces to resist any future act of encroachment to be made on the railways land, from which, the eviction process as directed above is to be resorted to by the respondents.”
“We hope and trust, that the directions given by us after a detailed analysis of the respective rights, would facilitate in ensuring the future railway development, and to curb the menace of encroachment, on the land of the Railways, may be ultimately laid to rest and would be restrained to reoccur in future by the Railways Authorities,” the Court was quoted as saying on December 20.
Reportedly, thousands of Haldwani residents, majorly Muslims, led protests against the government action to remove the encroachment after issuing legal notices a week before. The protesters held candle marches and also offered Islamic prayers on the streets, demanding that the government overturn the court’s eviction orders to vacate the encroached lands.
Much has been spoken and written about the menace of Love Jihad (Grooming jihad) that has rapidly been spreading its tentacles across many parts of the country, where vulnerable Hindu women are being targeted by Muslim men, enticed and misled, forcibly converted to Islam, tortured, raped, and then either killed or abandoned.
While the Left and the so-called liberals have always dismissed these occurrences as a figment of the ‘right-wing imagination’, the cases are real. The dead bodies are also real and the threat is imminent.
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.
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.
Mehmood Khan threatened to make the victim’s private video viral and forcefully converted the Hindu girl to Islam and had Nikah rituals performed.
The victim had also said in her complaint that Mehmood had chopped her hair, assaulted her, and threw her out of the house. He also threatened to kill the victim if she dared to file a police complaint.
Nidhi pushed to death by Mohd Sufiyan, family says he was forcing her to get converted to Islam
On November 16th, a 19-year-old girl Nidhi Gupta was reportedly pushedto death from the fourth floor of an apartment by her boyfriend Mohammad Sufiyan. According to reports, the incident happened when Nidhi and her family members had gone to Sifiyan’s house to confront him over his pressure on Nidhi to convert to Islam and marry him.
During the heated argument that ensued, Nidhi went to the rooftop and Sufiyan followed. Soon, Nidhi was pushed off to the ground. Nidhi’s family has alleged that Sufiyan pushed her to death because she had refused to convert and have a Nikah with him.
Bhopal Love Jihad
In Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal, a Hindu woman accused a Muslim man named Khalil of raping, beating, blackmailing and abortion. She said he forced her to convert by feeding her beef and sexually assaulted her for 9 years on the pretext of marriage. According to the victim, Khaleel’s son also wanted to establish a sexual relationship with her by blackmailing her.
Love Jihad in Jharkhand
A mother of a 16-year-old, a resident of Hazaribag district in Jharkhand, accused a youth named Shahid Ansari and his cousin Arbaz Ansari of kidnapping her minor daughter.
She alleged that Shahid has abducted her with the intention to forcefully convert her religion and thereafter marry her. The minor reportedly went missing on November 4, 2022.
Shahrukh poses as Raju to trap Hindu woman
On November 9, 2022, OpIndia reported that the Madhya Pradesh Police arrested a person named Saharukh under the state’s anti-love jihad law for hiding his religious identity from a 25-year-old Hindu woman and sexually exploiting her for over 5 months. Shahrukh had introduced himself as Raju alias Rajkumar and on being caught, he justified his crime by saying that a man is allowed to marry four women according to his religion.
‘Will sell you like animals’: Fed up of harassment love jihad victim Komal files her own death complaint
In the Shamli district of Uttar Pradesh, the menace of Love Jihad forced a Hindu girl to fake her own death. On November 8, reports emerged that a Hindu girl named Komal Sharma committed suicide when she came to know that her husband whom she loved and hid his religious identity to trap her. In the suicide note, she accused Sameer Ahmed of torturing her when his identity was revealed. She wrote that the accused had warned her to sell her like people sell animals if she did not surrender to his demands.
Later on November 10, it was revealed that Komal was alive and had staged her suicide in order to escape the persecution she was experiencing at the hands of her husband and his family members.
Kafeel Ahmed rapes Hindu girl, forces her to convert by blackmailing to post private pictures online
In Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur district, a complaint was filed against a Muslim man named Kafeel Ahmed. A Hindu lady accused Kafeel of sexually assaulting her daughter and recording the act. He then forcefully converted her to Islam by threatening to post obscene pictures and videos online.
Father of 9 children Sakir Mohammad poses as Rajkumar, rapes and forces Hindu woman to convert
On November 6 reports emerged that a Muslim man named Sakir Mohammad, father of nine children, allegedly recorded a pornographic tape of a lady after befriending her and raping her while posing as Rajkumar. After that, he began to put pressure on her to convert to Islam. He allegedly threatened to make the video go public if she refused.
7 Love Jihad cases reported in October
Shahrukh befriends a cop’s daughter, threatens her with her obscene videos to convert to Islam or be ready for ‘Sar Tan Se Juda’
A case of love jihad had been reported in the Shikohabad police station jurisdiction of Uttar Pradesh’s Firozabad district. On Friday, October 28, the Shikohabad police filed an FIR against one Shahrukh based on a complaint lodged by a police officer of the Uttar Pradesh Provincial Armed Constabulary (UP-PAC). The cop accused Shahrukh of blackmailing his daughter with obscene recordings, forcing her to convert to Islam, and threatening to behead his family if she did not comply.
Love Jihad in Madhya Pradesh
A typical case of Love Jihad came to the fore in Madhya Pradesh on October 29, 2022, where a Muslim man identified as Sheikh Jahid introduced himself as a Brahmin and developed sexual relations with a Hindu woman. In the police complaint, the victim said that Jahid raped her for 7 years. He forced her to convert her religion to Islam, offer Namaz, and also consume beef. On being refused, he used to thrash her brutally.
Ziauddin poses as Rajesh, lures Hindu mother of three children into love trap and abducts her
On October 26, OpIndia reported how a Muslim youth identified as Ziauddin tried to abduct the Hindu mother of 3 children by posing as Rajesh. Ziauddin was arrested by the Police on October 25th. The victim was sent to Nari Niketan and her family was informed.
Akram poses as Amar to entrap Hindu woman, absconds after raping the victim in a hotel, pressurising her to convert to Islam
On Sunday (October 16), another case of Love Jihad (Grooming Jihad) came to light after the Madhya Pradesh police registered a case against a man named Mohammad Akram for impersonating a Hindu, luring a woman and then raping her in a hotel.
As per reports, the incident occurred in Bhopal city of Madhya Pradesh. The accused claimed to be Amar Kushwaha in a bid to develop a friendship with the victim. After talking to her for a month over call, Akram took her to a hotel and raped her.
He then coerced her into converting to Islam and also threatened to kill her.
Syed Moin first man to be arrested under anti-conversion law in Karnataka, held for converting a woman on the pretext of marriage
On October 15, a 24-year-old Muslim man named Syed Moin was apprehended in Karnataka after being accused of converting a lady under the pretence of marrying her. According to reports, Syed Moyin, a resident of BK Nagar in Yeshwantapur, allegedly illegally converted a 19-year-old woman at a mosque in Andhra Pradesh.
This is the first arrest made in accordance with the recently passed Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Act.
Love Jihad in Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh
OpIndia reported on October 6 how a Kannauj resident Aarif pretended to be a Hindu youth named Amit, befriended a woman and promised her a job in the Railways. After that, he allegedly called her to a hotel and raped her. The woman has alleged that he even threatened her with consequences if she would not convert her religion to Islam and marry him, he would release her compromising videos.
Already married Muslim woman traps Hindu youth for property
On October 3, OpIndia reported that a married Muslim woman named Shoren befriended a Hindu youth named Sukant in Dehradun to fraudulently grab his property worth crores of rupees. Shoren lied to him that she was single and have studied ‘hotel management’. She even embraced Hindu Dharma and married Sukant in September 2019. She converted to Hindu Dharma and married Sukant in September 2019. Later, when her lie was exposed, she threatened Sukant to sell his property and give her ₹4 crore, otherwise he shall be implicated in a false case.
14 Love Jihad cases reported in September
Jharkhand Grooming Jihad
In Siwandih in Azadnagar, Jharkhand, the house of an absconding criminal Arzoo Mallick was demolished by the administration. The fugitive accused first married a Hindu woman while concealing his faith and name, then blackmailed her by recording an indecent film and distributing it to his accomplices. The accused handed over the girl to his friends who raped her and the crime was filmed by Arzoo. He kept blackmailing the girl using the video and forcing her not to reveal anything to anyone.
Wasim becomes Arjun, marries Hindu woman in temple, starts forcing her to convert after child birth
In Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, a Muslim youth named Wasim posed as Arjun to trap a Hindu woman. The accused married the victim as per Hindu traditions in a temple, but started forcing her to convert to Islam after their child was born. Beat her up and threw her out of the house when she did not give in to his demand. OpIndia reported the case on September 27.
Hindu man’s wife Pooja turns out to be Hasina Bano, forces husband to convert to Islam or be ready for ‘sar tan se juda’
On September 23, a shocking case of Love Jihad was reported from Shahnawazpur, Halkara village in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. For 12 years, a man named Jagbir Kori lived with his wife Pooja. But one day he discovered that his wife is Hasina Bano, a Muslim, not a Hindu.
The Muslim wife’s family members and other acquaintances had put pressure on her husband Jagbir Kori and the Hindu family to convert to Islam. Jagbir Kori was threatened with beheading for refusing to convert to Islam.
Love Jihad in Delhi
In an incident that occurred in Delhi’s Karkardooma locality, Irshad Ali met the victim posing as Guddu Chaudhary, a Hindu. Irshad Ali slowly led her into his trap, convincing her that he was single, though he was already married and had three children. The woman claimed Irshad forced her into a physical relationship, filmed it, married her, and then continued raping her while threatening to make her obscene video go public.
The victim described how Irshad used to force her to offer Namaz and then make an inappropriate film of her and show it to everyone. The girl went on to say that she was forced to consume cow and buffalo meat at Irshad’s residence and that if she refused, she was severely beaten and the meat was forcibly stuffed in her mouth. The girl further stated that she was made to recite Kalma by hitting her with the butt of a gun and was forced to convert to Islam.
Shahrukh befriends girl posing as Rajkumar, threatens to burn the girl when identity is revealed
A 24-year-old youth named Shahrukh from Rudrapur of Udham Singh Nagar district in Uttarakhand befriended a Hindu girl posing as Rajkumar. When his identity was revealed and the girl refused to marry him he started harassing the girl and even threatened to burn her after pouring petrol on her. Shahrukh was arrested based on a complaint filed by the victim.
19-year-old Sarfaraz rapes and impregnates 12-year-old on the pretext of marriage in Sonbhadra
On September 10, a case of grooming jihad came to light in Uttar Pradesh. Pannuganj Police arresteda 19-year-old man identified as Sarfaraz s/o Mainuddin for allegedly raping and impregnating a 12-year-old minor girl on the pretext of marrying her. In a statement, the police said, “The girl’s uncle alleged that she is eight months pregnant. She is a student of class X and her medical examination has been done. The medical report is awaited. Things would be clear once we get the medical report.”
Madhya Pradesh Love Jihad
On September 8th, 2022, OpIndia reported another horrific case of Love Jihad wherein a Muslim man named Monu Mansoori was detained for reportedly stalking a 19-year-old Hindu nursing student and threatening to attack her with acid if she did not marry him and convert to Islam. The incident took place in the Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh. The girl had sought the help of a Hindu organization and filed a complaint against the accused at the police station.
Faizal Ahmad poses as Atharv to marry Hindu girl, forces her to convert to Islam
A fresh case of Grooming Jihad came to the fore in the Chinhat locality of Lucknow, the state capital of Uttar Pradesh on September 5, 2022, where one Faizal Ahmad posed as Athrav Singh and married a Hindu girl under a false identity. The victim alleged that the accused threatened to torch her alive. She also alleged that Faizal earlier had relationships with two Hindu girls. She has alleged that Faizal forced her into unnatural sex also.
Jharkhand: Aaftab posed as Pushpendra to trap a Hindu girl, identity revealed when she was pregnant
In Jharkhand’s Garhwa district, a Hindu girl named Pooja Singh accused a young man named Aftab Ansari of marrying her by posing as Pushpendra torturing her when his identity was revealed and rendering her destitute after 3 years.
Kamran Sheikh poses as Hindu to elope with a married Hindu woman
The menace of love jihad has over the years become rampant in the state of Jharkhand. In yet another incident, a married Hindu woman accused a Muslim youth named Mohammad Kamran Shiekh of hiding his religious identity and luring her into a love affair. Kamran made promises of marriage to the victim posing as a Hindu. The woman, who walked straight into his trap agreed to elope with him along with his two daughters. Only when she reached Dumka from Delhi did she find out the accused’s real identity.
Delhi’s Aas Mohammad becomes Ashu Rana to trap 17-year-old Hindu girl, posts victim’s objectionable pictures online after his identity is revealed
On September 5, OpIndia reported how a 21-year-old man in Delhi posed himself as army personnel and befriended a class XII student by hiding his religious identity. The accused identified as Aas Mohammad introduced himself as Ashu Rana to the minor girl on a social media platform where they became friends and later also exchanged their mobile numbers. When his true identity was revealed the girl broke her relationship with him. This irked the accused who, to defame and harass the 17-year-old victim, created multiple fake accounts on social media platforms in the victim’s name and posted vulgar messages with her photographs.
Bhagpat: Raees impersonates Vikas to trap Hindu girl, threatens her with ‘Sar tan se juda’ after he is caught
This case of love jihad had come to light on September 3 from the Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh. Under the Khekra Kotwali area of Baghpat, a Muslim youth named Raees was accused of befriending a Hindu girl by posing as Vikas and when the truth came to light, he went to his home and threatened to behead her.
Muslim man pretends to be Hindu, throws victim into well after sexual exploitation
In an incident of love jihad that took place in the Lohardaga district of Jharkhand, one Muslim man named Rabani Ansari pretended to be a singer named Sajan Oraon from a tribal community to lure and sexually exploit a Hindu minor girl. The culprit then threw the girl into a well. The victim girl somehow survived. The police have arrested Rabani Ansari.
Naeem, accused in Ankita Kumari murder case, had abducted a minor Hindu girl, forced her to convert and marry him
Following the murder of 15-year-old Hindu girl Ankita Kumari by a Muslim man named Shahrukh, it was reportedthat the second accused in the case, identified as Mohammed Naeem, was linked to a group indulged in Grooming Jihad. On September 1, a minor Hindu girl who was harassed and stalked by Naeem has come forward to tell her shocking story.
She said when she used to go for coaching in 2021, Naeem not only molested her but also threatened her that if she refused his advances, he would harm her family. She further added that he continued to force her to give him her phone number.
The girl has further stated that she was once forcibly taken by Naeem to an unknown place. He took her to a room and imprisoned her. During that time, he pressured her to convert and marry. When she refused, he threatened to kill her and said he would sell her to his brother, who lives in Dubai.
11 Love Jihad cases reported in August
Armaan Ali befriends minor Hindu by faking identity shoots when she refuses to talk
On August 31, OpIndia reported how Armaan Ali had befriended a 16-year-old minor girl from Delhi’s Sangam Vihar on Instagram by changing his name. The girl said that when she stopped talking to Ali, he started stalking her. After this Armaan Ali along with his two other accomplices fired at the minor.
Love Jihad in Bareilly: How Chand Babu impersonated Dr Vishal to trap Hindu girl
On August 26, we reported how the Uttar Pradesh Police arrested one person named Chand Babu, a father of two children, for allegedly raping a woman and forcing her to convert her religion to Islam. According to reports, Chand Babu introduced himself as Doctor Vishal and duped a Hindu woman in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly district. He developed a love and sexual relationship with the victim woman and shot compromising videos of her. He also clicked several private pictures of the woman and later used them to blackmail her.
He then forcefully abducted the woman from Muradabad to Bareilly and locked her in ‘Mannat Guest House’ in the city. He also forced the victim woman to convert her religion to Islam.
Married Muslim man marries Hindu woman posing as a divorcee, forces her to convert
On August 24 a report emerged from Neemuch in Madhya Pradesh, wherein a Hindu woman accused her Muslim husband of trapping her by pretending to be a divorcee and then pressuring her to convert to Islam. As per the Hindu victim, Ashraf Khan married her by pretending to be a divorcee. Two months later it was revealed that Khan had lied about his divorce. After this, he started pressurizing the woman to adopt Islam. When the victim refused to change her religion, Khan started fighting with her. It was alleged that the woman was pressured to undergo an abortion thrice. Finally fed up with Ashraf’s atrocities, the victim sought the help of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).
Mohammad Alam poses as Anuj to trap Hindu girl and forces to convert, gets her gang-raped when she refuses
Yet another case of Love Jihad was reported from Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj district on August 15, 2022. Here, a Muslim lawyer named Mohammad Alam trapped a nursing student on social media by posing as Anuj. When the victim drew close to him and started trusting him completely, Alam took the girl to a hotel in Rambagh on the pretext of marriage and got into a physical relationship with her. The youth then married the girl in the court. Till then he did not reveal his religious identity to the victim.
After some time, when the girl got to know that the youth had lied about his religious identity to her she resented it. At this point in time, Alam locked her in the room where his brother Mohammad Aslam and Noor Alam raped her. Somehow she escaped from their clutches and reached the police station and lodged a complaint against them.
Danish becomes Avinash rapes Hindu woman for 9 years: Love Jihad in Shahjahanpur
On August 15, an FIR has been registered against six persons, including a man who allegedly hid his religious identity, for sexually exploiting a woman for about nine years in Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh.
Danish who posed as a Hindu and identified himself as Avinash made a friendship with the 30-year-old woman nine years ago. One day he took the woman to his home and introduced her to his family. When the woman confronted the man that he was not a Hindu but a Muslim, he allegedly raped her in front of his sister and sister-in-law. The act was also filmed.
According to the FIR, the accused continued to rape the woman for about nine years, threatening to victim make the video public.
Arif Khan traps a Hindu girl by posing as Arikan Rana in Noida
In Noida, Uttar Pradesh, a Hindu girl filed a case against a Muslim youth named Arif Khan accusing him of cheating and rape. She alleged that Arif Khan introduced himself as Arikan Rana to trap her. He sexually exploited her several times on the pretext of marriage. When she became pregnant with his child, Arif Khan forced her to go through an abortion. The victim alleged that after the abortion, the youth backed out from marrying her. In fact, Arif, along with his family members, also abused and beat her up.
Love jihad in Fatehpur
On August 11, a case of forced conversion and gang-ape of a minor girl came to light from the Fatehpur district of Uttar Pradesh. After luring the minor girl with love, Jabril Qureshi first kidnapped her and then gang-raped her along with his four accomplices. After this, Jabril Qureshi threatened to kill the victim’s father and brother if she did not convert to Islam.
Danish targets 13-year-old girl under fake Hindu name, blackmails and tries to convert
A 13-year-old girl student in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore had been harassed by a 19-year-old medical store owner Danish. The girl alleged that the accused had approached her by identifying himself with a fake Hindu name and started blackmailing her by taking photographs with her. The girl has also alleged that attempts were being made to get her converted.
Abdul Shah Jahan traps Hindu girl by posing as Mintu Roy, force-feeds her beef when the truth is exposed
A shocking case of purported love jihad came to light from Assam on August 2 wherein a Muslim man named Abdul Shah Jahan was arrested for entrapping a Hindu woman into marriage by faking his religious identity and torturing her thereafter.
According to reports, Abdul Shah Jahan lured a Hindu woman and convinced her to marry him by pretending to be a Hindu. Abdul who identified himself as Mintu Roy married the victim as per Hindu traditions in Guwahati’s Kamakhya Devi temple. The victim, however, came to know the true identity of the accused after six months after which the atrocities began. He started beating her up and force-feeding her beef. He took away a large sum of money from the victim and used the same to trap another Hindu girl. When the woman could not bear the torture, she approached the police.
Muslim auto driver ‘Chand’ traps a Hindu female teacher by becoming ‘Pandit’, pressurises her to marry him by converting to Islam
The menace of Love Jihad has spread like wildfire across the country, with innumerable cases emerging every day. On August 2, another case was reported from Noida. Here a Muslim auto driver named Chand trapped a Hindu teacher by posing as Pandit. After the woman fell in love with him, he started pressuring her to marry him, but then she came to know that the youth had trapped her by concealing his identity and she registered a police complaint against him at the Dankaur Kotwali.
Bareilly love jihad
On August 2, OpIndia reported yet another instance where the relatives of a Hindu teenager in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly alleged that a young man named Sahil had eloped with their daughter. The picture with the pistol of the accused went viral on social media.
17 Love Jihad cases reported in July
Shahnawaz hides identity, rapes a Sikh girl and coerces her to convert and engage in prostitution
On July 27, OpIndia reported that a Sikh girl in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad district levelled serious allegations against a Muslim man identified as Shahnawaz for hiding his identity to befriend her. He then raped and pressured her to convert to Islam. The girl alleged that the accused looted lakhs of rupees from her after which he forced her into prostitution.
Ali Asgar of Chhota Udaipur pretends to be ‘Anil Jaiswal’, rapes and blackmails a Hindu girl
A case of a Hindu girl being trapped, abducted, and abused by a young man from the Dawoodi Bohra community adopting a fake identity with a Hindu name had come to light in Kavant in Gujarat. The accused had been identified as Ali Asgar Parawala. As reported. Ali Asgar Parawala tried to befriend a 24-year-old Hindu girl living in the same town by pretending to be Anil Jaiswal. He used to call and message the girl and ask her to meet him saying that he was a gym manager.
Fed up with the repeated harassment, the girl went to the gym to convince him. However, there Ali Asgar physically molested the girl and took a selfie with her. After this, he used to blackmail the girl by threatening to make the selfie viral.
After a few days, the girl found out that his real name was not Anil Jaiswal but Ali Asgar and that he was married but the harassment did not stop. On July 18, he took the girl to Pune and from there to Lonavala. He raped the Hindu girl several times at a hotel in Lonavala and also committed unnatural sex with her.
Love Jihad in Jharkhand
A new case of love jihad was reported in the Bolba police station area of Simdega district in Jharkhand on July 24, 2022, where Mohammed Naeem Mian initially lured a Hindu female into a love trap by hiding his religion and then married the girl. Naeem Mian also raped the minor sister of the woman and recorded the act, and then threatened to make the video viral. The Muslim youth, as per reports, used the alias Sandeep Singh to entrap the Hindu girl.
Madhya Pradesh Love Jihad
On July 23, a new case of Grooming Jihad (Love Jihad) was reported from Madhya Pradesh’s Khandwa district where a 21-year-old woman was physically assaulted in Jabalpur, Bhopal, and Burhanpur and was forced to convert to Islam. The accused in the case was identified as Firdos Khan. The victim had testified that the accused had physically assaulted her by intoxicating her and forced her to convert to Islam.
NSUI leader Md Shahid Khan pretends to be ‘Manish Sen’, traps a Hindu girl and blackmails her
In Bhilwara city of Rajasthan, another case of grooming jihad appeared on July 21 in which Shahid Khan, alias Md Shahid Ghori – a manager in a mobile network company – pretended to be ‘Manish Sen’ to trap a Hindu girl studying in a local college and blackmailed her as he clicked her obscene photos after intoxicating her through a drink. The Bhilwara police arrested the accused Shahid Khan after a complaint was registered at the Kotwali police station in Bhilwara.
As per media reports, Shahid Khan alias Md Shahid Ghori has been politically active and is associated with NSUI.
Love Jihad in Ghaziabad
On Tuesday, 19 July, the Uttar Pradesh Police registered a complaint against an auto driver named Rahmat Hasan for forcefully converting a poor woman and her two-year-old child in Ghaziabad. Hasan posed himself as Guddu, a Hindu and deceptively married the woman and converted her to Islam. He also circumcised the two-year-old boy and forcefully converted him to Islam.
Love jihad in Jharkhand
On July 20, a case of love jihad appeared in Jharkhand in which a Muslim youth working as a labourer in a factory in Delhi lured a Hindu young woman from Azamgarh pretending to be a Hindu and married her. After eight years of this marriage, when the woman learned that her husband is a Muslim, the accused Muslim abandoned his wife.
As per reports, Shahzad Ansari pretended to be Ravindra and married her in a Hindu temple performing Hindu rituals. After eight years of married life, when the woman visited her in-law’s home, she knew that her husband is a Muslim. After this, the Muslim youth thrashed her out of the home and abandoned her.
Prince Qureshi of Kasganj poses as Monu Gupta to target a Hindu girl
Another love jihad surfaced in the Kanshi Ram Nagar (Kasganj) district of Uttar Pradesh on July 19, where one Prince Qureshi, disguised as Monu Gupta, befriended a Hindu girl from Delhi by approaching her on Facebook and raped her after calling her to Kasganj to meet her. There, he took her in a car and raped her after mixing intoxicants in her cold drink.
When the girl came to know the truth, she rebelled, and she was tortured and raped as a consequence.
Love Jihad in Noida
On July 15, OpIndia reported a Love jihad case from Faridabad in Haryana where a man named Murad Ali masqueraded as Sameer to lure a Hindu woman and later subjected her to mental and physical harassment, apart from forcing her to convert to Islam.
According to the reports, he married her in a temple as per Hindu customs in December 2021. However, after his identity was revealed, he started pressurising her to convert to Islam. The accused, on multiple occasions, physically assaulted her and got her beaten up by goons when she refused to succumb to his demands.
Uttar Pradesh Love Jihad
On July 14, it was reported that a girl named Simran Patel was duped by one Aslam Khan who posed as Sanjay to marry her in the year 2020. Aslam Khan is a resident of Fatehpur while the victim belongs to Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. The girl alleged that the accused had duped and married her and had sexually exploited her for two years.
Reportedly, after two years of marriage, Simran discovered that her husband was not Hindu and that he belonged to the Muslim community. Khan realized that Simran had discovered the truth. He then left Simran alone in Jabalpur and ran his way back to Fatehpur on June 30, 2022.
Hindu girl lured and taken away to Punjab for Nikah
In another case, a Muslim boy named Amir posed as a Hindu and lured a 15-year-old Hindu girl. Both of them lived in the same Police Station area. As per reports, Amir tried to talk to her on several occasions. He would circle the locality and even gave her a mobile phone as a gift. Soon, they started talking, and eventually, he brainwashed her completely. He told her they would travel the world, and he would treat her like a queen.
One night he took the teenager with him and went to Punjab. He asked her to do Nikah with him. The girl questioned her as he presented himself as Hindu, but Amir persuaded her to do Nikah. Later she also got pregnant. He made the teenager stop talking to her family. She somehow managed to talk to her parents and inform them what had happened. Her parents filed a complaint against Amir and brought her back from Punjab. At the moment, she is five months pregnant.
Imran poses as Surendra to trap a Hindu woman, blackmails her with private pictures to eat beef and accept Islam
In yet another case of love jihad reported by OpIndia on July 11, a youth named Imran has been accused of hiding his religious identity to trap a Hindu woman, thereafter pressurising her to convert to Islam and forcefully marrying her. The incident was reported from the Izzatnagar area of Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh.
According to reports, Imran also raped her and clicked objectionable pictures of the Hindu woman. He thereafter used the pictures to blackmail her into eating beef forcefully against her will and offer Namaz. When she resisted, Imran and his family members beat her up and denied her food and water. Imran and his family also threatened to kill her if she did not accede to their demands.
Plot made to target Hindu girl student in Bareilly
On July 10, OpIndia reported about a ploy that was hatched for almost 2 and a half months to trap a Hindu girl to convert to Islam. On June 23, one Muslim man took a girl from Bareilly to Kaliyar and forcibly taught her how to pray in the Islamic manner while she was forced to stay at a Mazaar. The Muslim man also put pressure on her to convert and marry said the report.
The Hindu girl had befriended the Muslim boy while in school where he promised to marry her and had even said she could continue to practice her faith. However, to alter the girl’s thinking and convert her, she was forced to spend five days in the Mazaar from sunrise to dusk. She was also forced to learn Islamic devotional practices. All of this was done violently as the girl’s psyche began to disintegrate. She was also coerced to convert to Islam and marry a Muslim boy.
Love Jihad in UP
On July 9 a case of Love Jihad came to the fore from Agra in Uttar Pradesh where a Hindu girl named Rachna Solanki filed a complaint against Ikrar Qureshi who posed as Amit Jaat to trap her. He then forced her to convert to Islam, circumcise her children and force-fed her beef. When the girl resented, the accused tore off Hindu scriptures and threatened to kill the children.
Hindu girl forced to convert and marry in a madarsa
Yet another case of love jihad has come to light in Sarai Akil located in Kaushambi, Uttar Pradesh on July 3. A missing Hindu girl (later recovered) alleged that a Muslim youth abducted her and forcefully took her to a Madarsa in Kareli, Prayagraj, where she was converted to Islam and then married her.
Javed, Mahmood, and Ibrar abduct and gang rape Dalit girl, force to convert to Islam
On July 2, OpIndia reported that the UP Police registered a case against Javed, Mahmood, and Ibrar for abducting, gang-raping a Dalit girl, and forcing her to convert.
According to the girl’s family, Javed one day knocked the victim unconscious and took her to Mumbai. There, she was gang-raped by Javed, Mahmood, and Ibrar, and was coerced to embrace Islam. Fearing arrest, Javed later brought the girl back to Gonda and released her.
11 Love Jihad cases reported in June
Girl held captive for 6 months and raped by one Zakir, was forced to convert to Islam
On Thursday, June 30, a 20-year-old woman filed a complaint against her neighbour Zakir and his two accomplices. She alleged that Zakir had kidnapped her with the help of his two aides, held her captive for six months, and sexually exploited her during that time. She further stated that Zakir coerced her into converting to Islam.
Mausim Quresh traps 15-year-old Hindu minor girl, forces to convert
A Muslim youth named Mausim Qureshi, a resident of the Thana Jamunapar area of Mathura, lured a 15-year-old minor Hindu girl living in the neighbourhood into his love trap and imprisoned her in the house for three months and abused her mentally and physically. Not only this but the victim’s family also alleged that the accused forced the minor to convert to Islam.
Shakib Mirza entraps student by disguising himself as Hindu woman on social media, rapes and threatens to throw acid on her when she refuses his advance
Disguising himself in a woman’s ID, a man Shaqib Mirza of Indore, Madhya Pradesh, befriended his victim on Instagram and asked her to meet him, after which he raped her and blackmailed her with a video of the rape and even threatened to throw acid at her if she didn’t marry him. The incident was reported by OpIndia on June 30.
Love Jihad in Prayagraj
In UP’s Prayagraj, a person named Mohammad Shammi alias Zubair was arrested for cheating a Hindu girl by concealing his religious identity. The victim alleged that Shammi aka Zubair befriended her on Facebook impersonating a Hindu named Suresh Pal. Shammi married the victim in Mankameshwar temple in the year 2018 after dating for almost 2 years. He coerced her into engaging in unnatural sex. She started physically abusing her after she got pregnant and on two occasions forced her to get herself aborted. Shammi pressurised him to convert and when she resented he threatened to throw her out of the house.
Another incident of love jihad in Navsari, Gujarat
Like many other states, in Gujarat too, one after another cases of love jihad keep emerging. One such fresh case of love jihad came to light at Enghal village in Gandevi taluka of Navsari on June 26, 2022. One Asfaq Ibrahim Sheikh befriended a Hindu girl on Instagram by introducing himself as Jigar. The young man talked to her and trapped her in love after which the girl eloped with him. When a probe was launched, it was revealed that the Instagram ID was actually a fake ID, and there was no one named ‘Jigar’ behind that account.
Madhya Pradesh Love Jihad
On June 22, OpIndia reported another case of Love Jihad from Madhya Pradesh where a Muslim youth named Shahbaz Sharif trapped a Hindu girl by posing as Rahul Gurjar. Later, the accused mercilessly raped the victim and forced her to convert to Islam. The accused told the victim that if she converted to Islam, she would receive ‘Jannat’.
Agra Love Jihad
A Hindu woman residing in Agra approached the police alleging that a Muslim man named Iqrar, a resident of Farah in Mathura, had married her posing as Amit, a Hindu. Later, when his identity was revealed her started pressuring her to convert to Islam. Not only this, but he was also exerting pressure to change the name of his children and get them circumcised.
Love Jihad in Madhya Pradesh
A fashion designer in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore has accused a Muslim teenager of marrying her pretending to be a Hindu and then fleeing. The accused’s name was Mohammad Wasil. Wasil introduced himself as Mahesh Babu, a Hindu to befriend the victim and advised her to forgive Wasil’s friend Mustakim who had raped her.
Wasil allegedly gave the victim medicines to abort her child. She alleged that he also forcefully fed her medicines that were meant for animals.
When Wasil left for Ajmer and did not come back, the victim found out his true identity and approached the police.
Rajasthan: Waseem Khan befriends Hindu businesswoman as Rahul Jain
On June 13, OpIndia reported that a Hindu businesswoman in Rajasthan approached the police with a complaint against one Waseem Khan accusing him of cheating and rape. In her complaint, the 34-year-old woman alleged that the accused trapped her by pretending to be Rahul Jain. The accused and the victim decided to move in together. For the next 2 years, he sexually exploited her by concealing his religious identity. Once, when she visited the accused’s house in Meerut, the latters’ brother Naseem Khan also tried to rape her. During her stay in Meerut, the woman realised that the accused was actually a Muslim and had hidden his identity to trap her. The girl somehow fled from there and lodged a complaint with the Jaipur police.
Love Jihad in Madhya Pradesh
On June 13 OpIndia reported another love jihad case from Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh, where a person named Puran Rajput had filed a complaint against Zeeshan for ensnaring his wife in the trap of love, converting his wife and two daughters on the pretext of distributing food in the locality. According to the victim, Zeeshan is instigating his wife to seek divorce from him. Along with this, he was also asking himself for marriage.
Love Jihad in Uttar Pradesh
In Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut, Suhail disguised himself as Saurabh and befriended a Hindu girl. Then made physical relations with her and made obscene videos. After the truth came out, Suhail and his family members started pressurizing him to convert.
Waseem Ansari had become Ravi Sharma, booked for sexually exploiting and blackmailing minor girl
On June 3, another case of Grooming Jihad was reported where a 21-year-old woman from the Baradari area of Rampur, Uttar Pradesh was sexually assaulted by one Waseem Ansari who had allegedly posed himself as ‘Ravi Sharma’ to lure the victim. According to the reports, the accused has been sexually exploiting the victim under a false identity for 5 years.
Love Jihad in Meerut
On June 8, a report emerged on how a Hindu girl was sexually exploited and forced to convert by a youth named Suhail, who posed as Saurabh to entice the girl. Then developed sexual relations with her and recorded the act, based on which he pressurised her to convert her religion. The incident was reported from Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut district.
10 Love Jihad cases reported in May
Zakir poses as Johnny to entrap a minor Hindu girl in UP
On May 31, a case of forced religious conversion and rape had been reported in Uttar Pradesh’s Hapur district. According to reports, a youth named Zakir lured a 13-year-old minor Hindu girl into his love trap by masquerading as Johnny. He reportedly applied Tilak and wore a Kalava on his hand so that the 13-year-old girl would pursue him thinking of him to be a Hindu.
Once she fell into his trap, Zakir took her to a hotel and raped her. He filmed the incident and used it to coerce her into converting to Islam and marrying him.
Love Jihad in Karnataka
Another disturbing story had been reported from Karnataka on May 27 wherein a 25-year-old Shilpa Devadiga had fallen into a love jihad trap laid by a Muslim man named Azeez and was as a result pushed into giving up her life. According to the OpIndia report, the Hindu woman from Kundapura of Udupi district of Karnataka died after consuming rat poison after Azeez cheated on her after promising to marry her.
The family of Shilpa has alleged that Azeez, a resident of Koteshwar, had sexually abused her by promising to marry her. Later, he also blackmailed her into converting to Islam by capturing obscene videos of her. Azeez, however, later refused to marry her. Hurt by rejection, Shilpa had consumed rat poison on May 23.
Hindu woman raped for eight months, fed beef, forced to embrace Islam by Saif Ansari in Delhi
On May 27 OpIndia reported how a Hindu woman from Delhi was abused, physically assaulted, and forced to convert to Islam after refusing to marry the accused, Saif Ansari. The Hindu lady was, reportedly, locked up for more than 8 months in the Paharganj area of Delhi, Gurugram, and Rohitas, Bihar and was gang-raped several times by the accused, his father, and other male relatives. The accused also recorded video every time the victim was assaulted and used it to blackmail her into converting to Islam.
Ansari deceptively invited her for lunch and fed her foul food. He also lit a cigarette, used it to physically abuse her body parts and recorded a video of the horror episode to blackmail her to accept Islam.
Mohammad Shahid traps a Hindu minor girl in love and forcefully converts her to Islam
A case of love jihad emerged from the Sangam city of Prayagraj, where a young man named Mohammad Shahid lured a Hindu minor girl (16) into his trap of false love and converted her to Islam. She later married him. However, as soon as the victim discovered the fraud, she left him and filed a complaint.
Nihal Khan hides religion and traps physiotherapist into relationship, refuses to marry unless she converts to Islam
On May 20, 2022, the Madhya Pradesh Police registered an FIR against a person named Nihal Khan for deceitfully assaulting a Hindu woman and allegedly forcing her to accept the religion of Islam. The 31-year-old victim, who is a physiotherapist by profession, said that Nihal never revealed his full name and developed physical relations with her assuring of marriage.
Anwar Ali forces a minor to convert to Islam and do Nikah
In yet another case of Love Jihad that was reported from Uttar Pradesh, Anwar Ali introduced himself to a minor girl through social media as ‘Raj’. Later, he enticed the girl, who was around 16 years and forced the girl to convert to Islam. Anwar Ali, who had disguised as a Hindu, later pressurised her to do Nikah with him. A case was registered against Anwar Ali after his real religious identity was revealed. On May 19, the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court recognised the menace of Grooming Jihad and rejected the bail plea.
Love Jihad victim found dead in Loni, UP
On May 18, Wednesday, a 32-year-old Hindu woman named Neetu Yadav was found dead in her house in Prem Nagar Colony in Loni, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. Neetu Yadav had in 2021, become a victim of grooming jihad. The woman had in November 2021 filed a police complaint against one Akram Qureshi, accusing him of faking his identity and lying about his marital status in order to enter into a relationship with her. He had also assaulted her while forcing her to convert to Islam and pressurised her to abort her child.
Muslim driver and a father of three implicates Hindu girl by masquerading as ‘Bunty’, rapes and pressurizes her into marriage by converting to Islam
In Ambala, Uttarakhand, a Hindu woman named Kanchan accused a Muslim man of tricking her into a relationship by hiding his religion, sexually exploiting her and then pressurizing her to convert to Islam. As per reports, the accused, who was already married with three children, befriended Kanchan by posing as Bunty, a Hindu. He established physical relations with her and made her private videos. He then used the videos to blackmail her. He forced her to marry him by converting to Islam.
The woman, who had come to know about his true identity refused to accede to his demands after which he shared her private videos with her family and relatives and even posted them on social media.
In the Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh an incident of grooming jihad surfaced on May 15. The accused, an auto driver named Amjad, allegedly entrapped a woman in a ‘love affair’ by hiding his religion, before implicating her in a child theft case.
Firozabad’s Arif abducts Hindu student, marries after converting her to Islam
On May 8, OpIndia reported about how a Muslim youth named Arif kidnapped a B.Com student in Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh and forcefully converted her to Islam. He was arrested and produced in court where the girl opened up about the deceit.
The victim categorically refused to live with Arif in court. She claimed that Arif initially informed her that they would marry in court, but on their way there, Arif surreptitiously gave Rs 27 thousand to someone and deceivingly converted her to Islam and married her according to Islamic traditions. He was leading her astray in Dehradun and Haridwar after the marriage before being caught.
8 Love Jihad cases reported in April
Another Grooming Jihad case in Bareilly
In Bareilly, a minor girl has been raped, blackmailed and exploited by a man named Kasim who had allegedly claimed to be Rahul. Kasim had allegedly lured the girl into a relationship online by identifying himself as ‘Rahul’. He belonged to the same neighbourhood as the victim and had gradually gained her confidence, eventually raping her and making obscene video clips to blackmail her further.
As per reports, when the girl came to know that ‘Rahul’ is actually Kasim, she tried to distance herself from him. Kasim was enraged by the girl’s attempts to avoid him and he had reportedly told her that she now ‘belonged’ to him and she would have to convert to Islam.
When the girl did not relent to his pressure, Kasim reportedly brought along some of his friends and tried to kidnap the girl from her house. When the girl started screaming for help, relatives and neighbours gathered and handed Kasim to the police.
Love Jihad in MP
On April 26, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in Madhya Pradesh demolished the illegal house belonging to a youth named Imran, also accused in a purported case of Love Jihad.
The action was taken after a girl, a resident of Gol Paharia in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh accusedImran, a resident of Dabra of enticing her into friendship and then marriage by posing as a Hindu. The girl told the police that she had met the accused at some event in January 2021. He introduced himself as Raju Jatav. The couple fell in love and began dating each other.
She claimed that when she refused to change her religion, her brother-in-law and the maulana raped her on the night of the marriage itself. The woman further accused the in-laws of beating her up after the marriage and keeping her hostage for 7 months. She stated that her mother-in-law, Suga Begum forced her into prostitution.
Two Muslim men abduct Hindu girl and try to do Nikah with her, force her to convert to Islam
On April 23, OpIndia reported yet another case of Love Jihad that emerged in the Fatehpur district of Uttar Pradesh where two Muslim men namely Shoiab and Kaleem allegedly abducted a Hindu girl and tried to marry her after forcefully converting her to Islam. One of the two men then made several attempts to do nikah with the girl but the girl kept on resisting.
Abu Zaid entraps Hindu girl on Instagram posing as Rahul
In Madhya Pradesh’s Indore city, a 27-year-old youth named Abu Zaid was accused of entrapping a 17-year-old Hindu girl into a love affair by posing as Rahul, a Hindu on Instagram. Gradually, both of them got to know each other and their friendship deepened. This friendship turned into love. The youth, as per reports, lured the girl into eloping with him.
When members of the Hinduist organizations came to know about the matter, they first thrashed him fiercely and then took him to the MIG police station after beating him and handed him over to the police.
Love Jihad in Fatehpur, UP
In Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh, a Hindu father accused one Mohammad Shoaib of abducting his 16-year-old minor daughter from their home by alluring her and then forcefully converting her to Islam. In the complaint given to the police, the father had named Shoaib, brother Suhail, Salman, Kallu and his mother Noorjahan as the main accused. The incident was reported by us on April 13, 2022.
Sadiq lures and rapes a 13-year-old minor girl by posing as ‘Ratan Tyagi’
The Haridwar police have arrested a youth named Sadiq who posed as a Hindu to befriend a minor girl and raped her thereafter. According to the FIR filed in the case on April 10, 2022, Sadiq had introduced himself as Ratan Tyagi to lure the Hindu girl. He then threatened her with her intimate pictures and sexually assaulted her.
Kalava on wrist, Tilak on forehead, going to temple daily… Rafat Khan married Hindu girl as Ankit, pressurises her to convert to Islam
An instance of Love Jihad had emerged from the Uttar Pradesh district of Bareilly on April 6. A married Muslim man was accused of concealing his identity and befriending a Hindu girl. When their friendship blossomed into love, they went to the temple and married. After nearly a year of marriage, the girl discovered that her husband is a Muslim, not a Hindu.
When this became public, he began pressuring the girl to convert. When the girl refused to join Islam, an attempt was allegedly made to run her over with a car.
Speaking about how she was fooled, the victim said that Rafat Hussain Qadri alias Ankit used to tie a Kalava on his wrist and go to the temple every day. He also used to apply Tilak to his forehead. That’s why she never doubted that he was not a Hindu.
Fatehpur Love Jihad
On April 6, in Uttar Pradesh’s Fatehpur district, Sabir Mirza was accused by a Hindu father of having lured his daughter. The accused took the girl to a mosque in Banda where he forcibly converted her to Islam and married her. The role of the Maulvi of the mosque also came to the fore in this matter.
12 Love Jihad cases reported in March
Farukh pressurises his Hindu wife for halala after giving her triple talaq
In the Kareli area of the Narsinghpur district of Madhya Pradesh, a case of a Muslim youth giving triple talaq to a Hindu girl after eight years of marriage and pressurizing her for halala has come to light on March 28. The victim Hindu girl married a man named Farukh in 2014. It was a love marriage. The girl alleged that Farukh deceived her. Earlier, he said he would not force her to change her religion. But soon after the marriage the husband and the in-laws started to exert pressure on her to change her religion.
Love Jihad Bareilly
On March 23, Asif posed as Akash to befriend a minor girl in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly district. He then took her to Delhi by luring her in his love trap. He raped the girl there. Then he forced her to convert to Islam.
Another love Jihad case from Bareilly
Asif kidnapped a Dalit family’s minor daughter. When they protested, Asif’s family abused them, but they also acknowledged that Asif has custody of their daughter. In addition, they also threaten to kill theminor Dalit girl.
Muslim family traps Hindu girl under the guise of sending her abroad and then physically and mentally exploit her
On March 26, OpIndia reported about a Muslim family that trapped a Hindu girl, belonging to the SC/ST community under the guise of sending her abroad and then physically and mentally exploiting her. The main culprit was namely Yasarkhan Pathan and one of his accomplices. According to the report, the accused lured the girl on the pretext of sending her abroad for further studies.
His family members allegedly physically abused the victim. They allegedly forced her to put on a Burqa and recite the Quran.
Madhya Pradesh Love Jihad
On March 23, OpIndia reported how one Mohammad Umed Khan from Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, a dr9ver by profession, befriended a 16-year-old minor Hindu girl, posing as Rahul. Then he pressured her to convert to Islam and marry him. When she refused, he assaulted and tried to kidnap her.
Fardeen lures and tortures Hindu woman to convert to Islam
In the Neemuch district of Madhya Pradesh, a Muslim youth named Fardeen first lured the woman into his trap and later tortured her along with his family members to force her to convert to Islam. A case was registered against Fardeen’s father Nasir Ali, Nazneen and Afroz under the Religious Freedom Act 2021 and arrested.
Muslim man poses as Rahul and sexually assaults a Hindu minor girl
In Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh, a man named Mohammad Umaid Khan entrapped a Hindu minor girl impersonating a Hindu. He introduced himself as Rahul to the Hindu victim, who worked as a nurse in a hospital. In 2017, he sought entry into the hospital by posing as a computer mechanic. Amjad befriended the Hindu there and started persuading the victim until she walked right into his ‘love’ trap. He then built sexual relationships by promising her marriage. He continued to sexually exploit her for 5 years until his identity was revealed.
Irfan Qureshi disguises himself as a Brahmin and traps a Hindu girl
In a shocking case of Love Jihad which was reported from Narsinghpur in Madhya Pradesh on March 13, a man named Irfan Qureshi trapped a Hindu woman in a love trap by disguising himself as Rahul Dubey, a Brahmin. One day, Irfan went to pick her up in his car, when the girl found Irfan’s identity card in it. On seeing this, she understood that she had been cheated. She tried to escape, but Irfan kidnapped her and took her to his brother-in-law’s house where he forcefully converted her to Islam and married her.
Grooming jihad in Jharkhand
On March 11, 2022, a video of a 21-year-old girl revealing how she became a victim of grooming jihad in Ramgarh, Jharkhand was shared on Twitter. The victim described how the accused, Hasnain Ansari, disguised himself as Aman Mehto in order to befriend her. He raped her after promising to marry her and secretly filmed obscene videos of her. After his identity was revealed, he posted the videos on social media.
Jharkhand:
Seema Kumari (name changed), 21-Year-old as per her Adhar Card accused one Hasnain Ansari of introducing himself as ‘Aman Mehto’ He lured her into a relationship, recorded their sexual act & shared online. An FIR (number-69/22) registered at Ramgarh PS on 10 March. pic.twitter.com/zDuQ3BcAjp
She claimed that accused Hasnain Ansari always wore a tilak and swore in the name of God. This convinced her that the accused was a Hindu. The girl further said that the accused promised to marry her. She accepted the proposal thinking of him to be a Hindu.
The accused also revealed how Hasnain Ansari continued to take her to restaurants where he would spike her food. When the victim began feeling sedated, he would ask her to rest for a while in a nearby room before returning home. Whenever the victim went into the room, the accused made objectionable videos of her and used them to blackmail her to convert.
Karnataka Love Jihad
In a gruesome incident of the Love Jihad case, one Mohammad Ijaz in Karnataka brutally stabbed his wife Apoorva Puranik, alias Arfa Bano, for seeking a divorce after finding out that he was already married and a father of three children. OpIndia reported the incident on March 11, 2022.
After the marriage, Apoorva converted to Muslim, changed her name to Arfa Bano, and followed Islamic traditions such as wearing a burqa, hijab, etc. Apoorva even started consuming meat and completely abandoned Hindu traditions after Ijaz forced her to convert to Islam.
Mohammad Wali Khan, a father of four kids, traps minor Hindu girl by posing as Nishant Kumar in MP
On March 7, OpIndia reported that a minor Hindu girl had been kidnapped by Mohammad Wali Khan, a father of four children, in a textbook case of Love Jihad, a menace that has claimed the lives of God knows how many vulnerable Hindu women over the years. This case was reported from Bhind district, Madhya Pradesh.
The Islamist paedophile, to groom the young victim, hid the fact that he was married with four children and that he was a Muslim. He posed as a Hindu and trapped the girl in a love affair. Khan in the coming days met the victim several times and raped the minor on the pretext of marriage. When his true identity was revealed, the victim asked him to stay away. The accused, however, went to her house, abused and threatened her and her family members with dire consequences if they did not allow the girl to go with him. The villagers caught hold of him, thrashed him and handed him over to the police.
Faizan becomes Monu to trap Hindu married woman, raped, assaulted when she refused to convert
On March 2 OpIndia reported another Love Jihad case from Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh, where one Faizan disguised as Monu first lured a Hindu woman into his love trap and then raped her for 6 months on the pretext of marriage. When the victim asked him to marry her, he flatly refused. Not only this, the accused pressurized the victim to convert to Islam by threatening to make the obscene video viral and also threatened to kill her.
4 Love Jihad cases reported in February
Love Jihad in Madhya Pradesh
Another instance of love jihad was uncovered on February 23 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Sohail Khan, the accused, lured a minor Hindu girl into his love trap. He raped her on several occasions by promising her marriage. The truth came to the fore when the minor became pregnant and underwent a premature delivery. In this case, the accused was arrested under the laws of Love Jihad, the POCSO Act, rape, and extortion.
Danish becomes Devesh to trap Hindu girl, forces to covert, harasses for years before trying to kill
Yet another case of grooming jihad has come to light in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh on February 21, 2022. An architect identifiedas Danish had claimed to be Devesh to trap a Hindu girl around seven years ago. After marriage, he forced the girl not to worship Hindu Gods and Goddesses while he practised Islam. Before his true identity got revealed, the girl already had a child.
On February 16, he tried to kill her by strangulation. She somehow managed to escape and filed a complaint at Para Police Station, Lucknow. Danish was arrested by the Police.
Love Jihad in Agra
Faeem Qureshi (Armaan) was accused by the brother of a Hindu girl, Varsha Raghuvanshi, of wooing and marrying his sister a year and a half ago in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra. Faeem’s family members then began tormenting Varsha. Varsha was humiliated as a Hindu by being called a “child of an infidel” and denigrating Hindu gods and goddesses. Varsha was discovered hanging from the noose one day.
Already married Nazim poses as Hindu to lure a Hindu girl in Kerala
On February 3 a Love jihad incident emerged in Kerala where the police arrested a man named Mohammed Nazim (27) from Chathanoor in Kollam district in Kerala in a case of grooming jihad who allegedly trapped a Hindu girl posing as a Hindu man. He brainwashed and raped the girl multiple times on the pretext of marriage. When she became pregnant, he kicked her in the abdomen causing abortion and killing her unborn child.
11 Love Jihad cases reported in January
Love Jihad in Jharkhand
A case of ‘love jihad’ had come to light from Gumla in Jharkhand on January 29. Here a Muslim man named Aslam Miyan posing as Sonu Sahu trapped a Hindu girl and raped her several times on the pretext of marriage. However, whenever the victim asked him to marry her, he silenced her by threatening her. Based on the complaint of the victim, the police started an investigation by registering a case against the accused.
Love Jihad in Madhya Pradesh
On January 26, OpIndia reported that a Muslim youth named Sarfaraz raped a Hindu girl numerous times after threatening her in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh. He had befriended the victim on Instagram. When the girl pestered him for marriage, he imposed a condition of conversion on the victim. Surprisingly, Sarfaraz was friends with the victim’s cousin and referred to her as his sister.
Love Jihad in Gorakhpur
Dilshad Hussain, 30, of Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, forged a close relationship with the minor girl’s family and began visiting their home while pretending to be a Hindu. Dilshad then coaxed the girl and fled away with her. He was charged with raping the minor. OpIndia reported the incident on January 22, 2022.
Love Jihad in Gujarat
On January 10, a Hindu victim of Love Jihad spoke up about how she fell victim to the deceptions of a Muslim named Dilshad, who first sought to entice her but then abducted her when she resisted his overtures. Dilshad forced her to marry him but when she resented he called a Maulana for the nikah.
Pooja then revealed that after the ‘nikah’, her name was changed there. Her hair was cut and she was asked to wear a burqa and she was not allowed to go out. “I thought that if I stay properly and follow what they ask me to do, they may let me speak to my family. He used to also beat me up,” she said.
She says how Dilshad’s mother would come in the night when she would be sleeping and spread something where she would sleep. She stayed at Dilshad’s place for 15-20 days. She further revealed that she heard Dilshad speak to the maulvi who had come for nikah that they get money for bringing Hindu girl for marriage.
Dilshad’s mother used to make her read the namaz and force her to wear a burqa.
Madhya Pradesh love jihad
Another case of love jihad was reported from Indore, Madhya Pradesh. In this case, a man named Ahmed Faiz was accused of tricking a female Company Secretary (CS) student by masquerading as Aman and raping, blackmailing, and converting her using obscene videos and pictures.
The girl alleged that Ahmed established a sexual relationship with her by giving her intoxicants. During this time, he also took obscene images and videos of the victim. When the girl discovered that the accused was a Muslim, she began to distance herself. Ahmed allegedly wanted to convert her and keep her with him.
Meanwhile, the victim’s marriage was finalised elsewhere. Ahmed, enraged by the girl’s engagement, shared obscene images and videos of the girl with members of the boy’s family. As a result, the victim’s engagement broke. After the relationship ended, the girl and her family went to the Shikarpura police station. There, authorities filed a case against the accused under the rape, blackmail, and MP Religious Freedom Act 2021.
Arbaaz becomes Vishal to trap a minor Hindu girl
On January 19, 2022, a case of purported love jihad was reported from Madhya Pradesh’s Khandwa district. Here, a Muslim youth Arbaaz trapped a minor Hindu girl by masquerading as Vishal, a Hindu. He ensnared the victim in his love and convinced her to elope with whatever money and jewellery she could get her hands on in her house on the pretext of marriage. When the girl reached Khandwa, the accused along with his friend Sadiq, gang-raped the victim and also took indecent videos and photos of the minor. Arbaaz then used the photographs to blackmail her to convert to Islam. He said that he would only marry her if she converted. However, when the girl did not accede to Arbaaz’a demands the accused and his aide abandoned the minor and fled.
Minor Dalit girl in UP falls into the ‘Love Jihad’ trap
On January 15, reports emerged that a 16-year-old Dalit girl from Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, accused Arif Khan of threatening and raping her. The accused duped her into marriage by posing as Tillu. After that, he coaxed her to Delhi, where he raped her multiple times. When she protested, he threatened her. At the same time, the police labelled it a love affair. According to them, the minor girl accompanied the accused voluntarily.
Love Jihad in Kerala- Christian woman forced to adopt Islam by Muslim husband
On January 14 it was reported that in Kerala, a Christian woman accused her husband of forcing her to convert to Islam. Aslam forced his wife to stay in an Islamic facility for 40 days in order to convert her. According to the police, they both had a love marriage on November 11, 2019. Both had promised to adhere to their faith at the time.
Grooming jihad horror from the hinterland of Gujarat
In another case of Grooming jihad reported from the hinterland of Gujarat on January 13, a gold medalist M.Sc student from Gujarat’s Soni community fell in ‘love’ with a Muslim boy. The boy worked as a waiter in a nearby hotel. At the time, she just knew his name was Sameer. The girl confessed two years later that she was forced to convert to Islam. Sameer pushed her to have sex with other friends in addition to wearing a burqa and reciting the Quran.
Uttar Pradesh: Muslim man becomes ‘Raju’ to abduct a 15-year-old Hindu girl, convert her to Islam
In another case of Love Jihad or Grooming Jihad, the Kasganj Police in Uttar Pradesh arrested a youth for allegedly trapping a Hindu minor girl by posing as a Hindu boy and later forcing her to convert to Islam. OpIndia reported the incident on January 4, 2022, wherein the Muslim man posed as a Hindu boy named Raju to trick the girl and abducted her while she was on her way to school.
Love Jihad in UP
In another case of love jihad that was reported on the first day of 2022, Ishaan Bukhari a Kupwara, Jammu and Kashmir resident, was named as the accused, while the victim was a Hindu girl from Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow. The victim reportedly was taken to Chandigarh after being duped by Ishaan. One day, the girl’s family received a video call from Nepal. It was then revealed that she had been converted to Islam, married, and was 7 months pregnant. The victim revealed how Ishaan also compelled her to undertake unethical work in Nepal and assaulted her and threatened her with death.
Forced Islamization of women under the guise of love is not limited to the Hindu population of India; incidents are also common in other foreign nations. Here is one such example from Nepal that OpIndia reported in 2020.
Similar case of ‘Love Jihad’ reported from Nepal
Nepal: From August 20 to 27, 2022, an OpIndia team visited several areas in Nepal bordering India to observe the ground situation. While the shift in demography was visible, our team also found evidence that proves how the menace of ‘love jihad’ or ‘grooming jihad’ has also plagued the land of mountains. Here too, the vulnerable Hindu native women are being targeted by Muslim men, lured and brainwashed, forcefully converted to Islam and married off.
In June this year, a Nepalese woman named Sina Lama who lives in the Rupandehi area of the country filed a complaint at the Kapilvastu police station against a man named Sanaullah. In her complaint, she claimed that Sanaullah, who allegedly came to the hamlet to undertake a brick business, entrapped her into a love affair under false promises.
He lied about his marital status to her. Later, when she fell into the trap, he tricked her to get her to hand over 4 tolas (or around 10 grammes) of gold and 11 lakh Nepalese rupees to him, which he then took and fled.
According to Sina Lama, Sanaullah convinced her to convert to Islam and get married to him as per Islamic law.
On 30th December 2022, Ajit Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party said in the Maharashtra assembly that Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj was not a Dharmaveer, but he was a Swarajya Rakshak (protector of the kingdom). His statement has caused a stir in Maharashtra’s social and political discourse. On the last day of the winter session in Nagpur, Nationalist Congress Party leader and leader of the opposition Ajit Pawar presented the proposal of giving the Brave Child Award in the name of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj.
While speaking in the assembly, Ajit Pawar said in his address, “I would like to say it again that we purposefully call Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Swarajya Rakshak. There are a few people who call him Dharmaveer. The king was never a Dharmaveer. Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj never upheld Dharma anywhere in his life. Shivaji Maharaj also established a Hindavi Swarajya.” As Ajit Pawar said about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s Swarajya, he essentially meant that his kingdom was not based on Dharmic notions, but independent rule was the prime motive behind his movement.
Ajit Pawar further said, “But few people keep saying Dharmaveer, Dharmaveer, Dharmaveer. When I was a minister in the state government, while taking any decision, I would always tell everyone involved that we should call him Swarajya Rakshak Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj.”
MLA Bharat Gogavale is the chief whip of the Shinde group of Shivsena i.e. Shiv Sena (Balasaheb Thackeray) in the assembly house. He tried to intervene and tell Ajit Pawar about the sacrifice of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj for the sake of Dharma, but he was denied permission to talk in between.
Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis gave a befitting reply to Ajit Pawar
State deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis took note of Ajit Pawar’s statement while talking to the media on 31st December 2022. He also gave Ajit Pawar a strong reply. He said, “Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj protected Dharma, Swadharma, and Hinduism. Why did Aurangzeb kill him? Sambhaji Maharaj was asked to convert but he did not agree. He was sacrificed for his country, his own land, and his own religion. His body was literally cut into pieces. However, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj did not give up the language of Swadharma, Swarashtra i.e. nation. So no matter how hard Ajit Pawar and people like his thoughts try, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj was not only a Swarajya Rakshak but he was also a Dharmaveer.”
Why there is a controversy about the title designated to the Hindu king?
There are two popular streams of Maratha historical discourse in Maharashtra. One of them is led by the likes of Babasaheb Purandare who gave his whole life the research about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, his Swarajya, and its further development. Followers of this thought line see Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj as the kings who reestablished a Hindu state in the nation amidst the tyranny of the Moghuls in the north and various Shahis in the Deccan. This stream ruling the hearts and brains of the people in Maharashtra, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj is always hailed as a Dharmaveer because he did not give up his faith even after being tortured and lured by Aurangzeb. He laid down his life for the sake of Dharma, therefore, he is known as Dharmaveer.
The others, however, try to separate both the Chhatrapatis from Dharmic notions and try to portray the Swarajya to be like any so-called secular, progressive, liberal state in the contemporary era which Swarajya was actually not. The ‘Sambhaji Brigade’ is one such organization propagating this view in which the great kings are seen from the point of view that would seem to be ‘politically correct’ in contemporary times. They call Chhatrapatii Sambhaji Maharaj a Swarajya Rakshak. However, the Moghul threats to Swarajya and the religious motivation behind those threats are comfortably ignored by this class. Ajit Pawar delivered the content often spoken by someone from this stream.
Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj stands tall as the Dharmaveer
The Sanskrit letter procured from the Jaipur state archives mentions Sambhaji reminding Ram Singh to take up the cause of Hindutva seriously after the gruesome tactic of Aurangzeb. It says,
“The present wicked Emperor believes that we Hindus have all become effeminate and tint we have lost all regard for our religion. We can no longer endure such an attitude on the part of the Emperor. We cannot put up withanything derogatory to our character as soldiers (Kshatriyas). TheVedas and the codes enjoin certain injunctions of religion…which we cannot allow to be trampled underfoot, nor can weneglect our own duty as kings to our subjects. We are prepared tosacrifice everything, our treasure, our land, our forts, in wagingwar against this satanic Emperor.”
Upon Samarth Ramdas’ enlightenment after ascending the Swarajya throne, Sambhaji made a formal grant of ten thousand Hons every year to his family Goddess Bhavani. The Grant is written in a tone of thankfulness towards the Goddess and details the lives of the Bhonsale family and their connection with the temple. Written in his own handwriting, the Sanskrit letter reflects how Sambhaji’s worldview and how he saw his ancestors. In the grant, Sambhaji has referred to his grandfather Shahaji as ‘Haindav-Dharma-Jeernoddharaka’ (हैंदवधर्मजीर्णोद्धारक) – the one who has restored Dharma. On Shivaji, Sambhaji unapologetically bestows the titles of ‘Mleccha-kshaya-dixita’ (म्लेंच्छक्षयदीक्षित) – the one who has mastered the killing of Islamic invaders and ‘Gau-brahman-pratipalaka’ (गोब्राह्मणप्रतिपालक) – The protector of cows and Brahmins.
Grant issued by Chhatrapati Sambhaji with his royal seal at the top
The capture
The advances of Sambhaji in fighting the Portuguese and the Siddis of Janjira were additional grounds for the Mughal Emperor’s arrival in the Deccan. Aurangzeb had a far-fetched aim of seizing all of Hindustan and putting it under Mughal control. When he arrived in the 1680s, the Nizamshahi, Adilshahi, and Qutubshahi all fell into chaos. Only the Marathas stood the test of time in capturing Aurangzeb in the Deccan, who never came back to Delhi until his death in 1707.
Sambhaji, along with Kavi Kalash, the poet, was seized in February 1689 by Qutubshahi leader Sheikh Nizam and his son Iklas Khan, who were now aiding the Mughals in Sangameshwar. The capture of Sambhaji delighted Aurangzeb, who ordered their confinement at Tulapur. When the Mughals captured Sambhaji, the Chattrapati of the Hindavi Swarajya, he was mercilessly humiliated.
The torture
Sambhaji and Kavi Kalash were paraded on camels dressed as clowns with bells strung around their necks. They were carried from their camp to Aurangzeb’s Darbar, where people lined up to behold their King robbed of his pride. The next day, Aurangzeb offered Sambhaji his life in exchange for the release of all his forts and treasure to the emperor.
Aurangzeb also told him to adopt Islam and promised him that if he did, he would not be executed. Sambhaji vehemently rejected the offer and attacked Aurangzeb and the Prophet, ‘giving vent to his long pent-up sentiments against the Muslim faith,’ recounts historian G S Sardesai. Aurangzeb was shaken by his fiercest enemy’s answer and insisted that he had gone beyond doubt for forgiveness. The long-drawn-out murder of Sambhaji and Kavi Kalash at Tulapur’s prison came next.
Sambhaji’s eyes were removed at the beginning, and Kalash’s tongue was chopped. Every day, Sambhaji was tortured as his nails were removed one by one. Sambhaji was steadfast enough to resist Aurangazeb’s attempts to entice him with promises of forgiveness despite his demands. A fortnight later, after suffering the brunt of the tortures, Sambhaji was beheaded on the Amavasya of Phalgun, the Hindu calendar’s last month. His limbs were removed while he was still alive, and the flesh was fed to stray dogs. Later, the slain heads of Sambhaji and Kalasha were paraded as emblems of Aurangzeb’s victory over Hindavi Swarajya.
The eternal sacrifice that inspired generations
For preserving his Dharma, Chhatrapati Sambhaji paid the ultimate sacrifice of his life. As a murderous warmonger, Aurangzeb’s cruelty knew no bounds. Subsequently, Marathas, notably Sambhaji’s wife Yesubai, his half-brother Rajaram, and later his wife Tarabai, were the last bastions of Swarajya in the Deccan. While the Mughal Emperor considered destroying the Maratha’s strength after Sambhaji’s death, it only flourished into a massive empire in the next century, led by the Peshwas. In Sambhaji’s sacrifice, Dharma won against Aurangzeb’s Jehad.
Former Pope Benedict passed away at his Vatican residence on Saturday aged 95.
“With sorrow, I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican. Further information will be provided as soon as possible,” Vatican News tweeted.
Pope Benedict passed away two days after Pontiff Francis asked to pray for the “very sick” former Pope, CNN said in a report.
“I want to ask you all for a special prayer for Pope Emeritus Benedict who sustains the Church in his silence. He is very sick,” Pope Francis said during his general audience at the Vatican on Wednesday.
“We ask the Lord to console and sustain him in this witness of love for the Church to the very end,” added Pope Francis.
In 2013, Pope Benedict XVI shocked the world by making the almost unprecedented decision to stand down from his position, citing “advanced age.” Benedict’s announcement marked the first time a Pope had stepped down in nearly 600 years, reported CNN.
The last Pope to resign before his death was Gregory XII, who in 1415 quit ending a civil war within the Catholic Church in which more than one man claimed to be Pope.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
On Saturday, in a press meeting, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that people wear sweaters because they are scared of the cold. “I do not wear a sweater because I am not scared of cold. You wear one because you are scared,” he said when one of the reporters asked him why he does not wear a sweater and how does he not feel cold.
The Congress leader is currently in Delhi and can be seen walking around the city in a t-shirt. Delhi is in the middle of the winter season right now as the temperature is hovering around 10 degrees Celsius. “Meri T-shirt se itni disturbance kyun hoti hai (Why are you so disturbed by my t-shirt),” Gandhi said as the media personnel asked him about the cold weather.
#WATCH | Why is there so much disturbance because of the T-shirt? I do not wear a sweater because I am not scared of winter. I am thinking to wear a sweater once I start feeling cold: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi pic.twitter.com/Jky5DKPpKG
“Do you want me to wear a sweater?” he questioned reporters, adding that after the Bharat Jodo Yatra, he would produce a video showing how to walk in a t-shirt while braving the cold. The Wayanad MP added that he is not frightened of the cold and will put on a sweater if he starts feeling cold. The video of the exchange went viral over the internet with netizens mocking the leader for his ‘not scared of cold’ statement.
One of the users claimed that Rahul Gandhi was deliberately avoiding wearing a jacket. The user stated that he was probably scared that he might get mocked for using expensive jackets at the cost of public money. In 2018, Rahul Gandhi was attacked by the BJP for wearing an expensive Burberry jacket costing Rs 70,000 during the campaigning for the Meghalaya Assembly elections. The BJP criticized the Congress leader, who had mocked the Narendra Modi administration over GST, growing unemployment, and weak economic development earlier.
He’s not wearing jacket as people tr0ll him about cost of his Burberry jacket ???? pic.twitter.com/Rm7ET5L6NQ
Meanwhile, another user indicated that Rahul Gandhi was a comedian and that he had wrongfully chosen the path of being in politics. “This guy is of a different level… He just came in the wrong line, otherwise, he would have gone very far,” the user tweeted.
ये बंदा अलग ही लेवल का है… बस आ गलत लाइन में गया वरना बहुत आगे तक जाता ?https://t.co/T2qdoj3fVH
Several other users went on to say that Gandhi was being illogical by making such a statement while many others came up with funny memes ultimately mocking the leader. One said Gandhi will wear a blanket in the summer season as he might not be scared of heat also. Another one sarcastically said that the leader deserved to be the PM of the country by making such a statement.
ये गर्मी में रज़ाई ओढ़ के सोयेगा क्योंकि ये गर्मी से डरता नहीं है ??
Some users also seriously commented on Rahul Gandhi’s remarks. “Your political career is so cold that no amount of dynastic and boot-licking sweaters will warm it.”
Your political career is so cold that no amount of dynastic and boot licking sweaters will warm it !!
screenshot of people’s comments on Rahul Gandhi’s statement
screenshot of people’s comments on Rahul Gandhi’s statement
Earlier, it was reported that the Congress leaders were really impressed by Rahul Gandhi’s thermodynamic system. Long-time Congress loyalist Salman Khurshid was so impressed by Rahul Gandhi’s act of wearing a t-shirt that he called Rahul Gandhi superhuman for wearing one during Delhi winters. Salman Khurshid said that while they are freezing in the cold and wearing jackets, he (Rahul Gandhi) is going out in t-Shirts for his Bharat Jodo Yatra. Khurshid added that Rahul Gandhi is like a Yogi doing a tapasya since he wore a t-shirt.
Not satisfied with the comparison of Rahul Gandhi to superhumans, Khurshid went forward and compared him to Lord Ram. The Laal Singh Chaddha run of Rahul Gandhi largely skipped Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, and the state with the highest number of Lok Sabha seats, and Khurshid had an excuse ready for it. “Sometimes when Ram ji is not able to reach, Bharat takes the ‘khadau’ and goes to places. Like that, we have carried the ‘khadau’ in UP,” he was quoted as saying.
Lord Ram’s ‘khadau’ goes very far. Sometimes when Ram ji is not able to reach, Bharat takes the ‘khadau’ and goes to places. Like that, we have carried the ‘khadau’ in UP. Now that ‘khadau’ has reached UP, Ram ji (Rahul Gandhi) will also come: Congress leader Salman Khurshid pic.twitter.com/vuAQmsvQYG
The Chairperson of Social Media and Digital Platforms for Congress in Maharajganj, Supriya Shrinate, had also sung Rahul Gandhi’s praises for wearing a t-shirt and compared him to a ‘tapasvi’.
6 डिग्री में कोई सिर्फ़ टी शर्ट में कैसे रह सकता है?
इस कदर का आत्म नियंत्रण, आत्मबल तपस्वियों का ही होता है.
Rahul Gandhi’s march, entered Delhi last week at the Badarpur border, near the Badarpur metro station. The Yatra is supposed to restart on January 3 and travel to Haryana, then to Punjab, and ultimately the journey will end in Jammu and Kashmir.
Yesterday, several media houses published fake news claiming that Indian Rupee has ended the year as the worst-performing Asian currency. Despite the fact that a simple online search shows that value of several other Asian currencies fell much more than the fall of INR, leading media houses, including pink papers like Economic Times claimed that ‘the Indian rupee ended 2022 as the worst-performing Asian currency with a fall of 11.3%’.
Quoting or directly publishing a report by Reuters, several other newspapers and news channels like Hindustan Times, Indian Express, Times Now, Money Control and many others made the same claim in their headlines, that India Rupee was the worst-performing Asian currency in the year 2022. The reports stated that Indian Rupee against US Dollar fell 11.3% in the year, from ₹74.33 at the start of the year to ₹82.72 at the end of the year, and this is the worst performance by an Asian currency.
Screenshots of fake media reports
However, this is absolutely wrong claim. While it is correct that Indian Rupee fell 11.3% versus US Dollar during the year and it is a bad year for the Indian Currency, it was not the worst-performing Asian currency in the year. There are several other Asian currencies which fell much more than INR during the year.
As can be seen in the table below, the currencies of several Asian nations fell much more than Indian Rupee. Actually, Sri Lankan Rupee was the worst-performing Asian currency, which fell over 80% in the year, given the political turmoil the country faced after the country went bankrupt. The Turkish Lira was the second worst performer with a fall of over 40%.
In fact, the currencies of most neighbours of India fell at a much higher rate, with the Pakistani Rupee falling by 27.10%, and Bangladeshi Taka by 20.32%.
Currency
Opening Value
Closing Value
Difference
% Change
Sri Lankan Rupee
202.92
367.53
164.61
81.12%
Turkish lira
13.32
18.69
5.37
40.32%
Pakistani Rupee
178.25
226.55
48.30
27.10%
Bangladeshi Taka
85.74
103.16
17.42
20.32%
Myanmar Kyat
1778.41
2100.17
321.76
18.09%
Japanese Yen
115.11
131.12
16.01
13.91%
Israeli Shekel
3.11
3.53
0.42
13.50%
Indian Rupee
74.51
82.75
8.24
11.06%
Nepalese Rupee
118.99
132.13
13.14
11.04%
Taiwan dollar
27.72
30.66
2.94
10.61%
Indonesian Rupiah
14242
15538.5
1296.50
9.10%
Chinese Yuan
6.36
6.90
0.54
8.53%
Even better economies like Israel and Japan saw their currencies fall at a higher rate than the fall of INR. Others like Taiwan and Indonesia saw their currencies fall at similar levels as the INR. Chinese Yuan fell by 8.53% in the year.
Moreover, outside Asia too, there are several major currencies that saw similar or more falls in the year. The British Pound fell by 11.75% against US Dollar. Worldwide, the worst-performing currency was Venezuelan Bolivar, which fell by a whopping 272.95% vs USD in the year. Ghanaian Cedi was another bad performer with a 65% fall.
Therefore, it is completely false that Indian Rupee was the worst-performing currency in the year 2022, there are several Asian currencies that performed much worse.
Source of the fake news
Most of the media reports carrying the fake news quoted Reuters, but actually, Reuters didn’t make this false claim. The headline in the Reuters report is ‘Indian rupee ends down more than 10% in 2022, worst since 2013,’ which is factually correct. In the body of the report, it said that ‘the Indian rupee ended 2022 as one of the worst-performing Asian currencies’.
Reuters actually didn’t say that the Indian currency was the worst-performing Asian currency, it said that India Rupee was one of the worst-performing Asian currencies. But in an effort to show that Indian economy has suffered under the Modi government at the centre, the media houses distorted that sentence to claim that Indian Rupee was the worst-performing Asian currency in 2022. As we have seen above, there are several major Asian currencies that performed worse than INR.
2022 has been a tumultuous year for Hindus. From hundreds of cases of Love Jihad (Grooming Jihad) to beheadings like that of Kanhaiya Lal, mob violence against Jihadis against Hindus, the Ukraine-Russia war that raised speculations of World War 3 and shocking cases like that of the murder of Shraddha Walkar by Aftab Poonawala.
OpIndia, on its part, tried to document as much as we could to ensure that our readers have the information that they deserve.
As we bid adieu to 2022, here is a list of the top 10 most read articles on OpIndia.
2022 was a year that saw a Bollywood battle – between the industry and its viewers. While several movies that were expected to do well at the Box Office tanked, there were other off-beat movies based on ignored realities that did exceptionally well. With star kids and A-listers failing to impress at the Box Office, the ‘liberals’ in the media launched a media blitzkrieg against movies that displayed the truth.
In July 2022, movie critic Anupama Chopra reviewed R Madhavan’s newly released movie named ‘Rocketry: The Nambi Effect’ to report a problem with the subject’s Hindu religion and his patriotism. Writing a review of the movie based on the life of Padma Bhushan Nambi Narayanan, Chopra said that the movie repeatedly highlighted Nambi’s patriotism and also leaned pointedly into his religion.
“It’s admirable that the film has brought Narayanan’s many accomplishments into the spotlight, but the screenplay repeatedly underlines his patriotism and also leans pointedly into his religion”, she said in the review that was published on July 1.
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The movie ‘Rocketry: The Nambi Effect’ is the story of one of India’s greatest space scientists, Nambi Narayanan. An exemplary achiever, instrumental in India’s space accomplishments only to be falsely implicated by a political-bureaucratic nexus in a bid to not only prevent the country’s technological progress but also to use it to further an evil political outcome.
Perhaps for the first time in history, the impact of war on earth was felt in space. After Russia had said that the sanctions by the USA and European nations on Russia for invasion of Ukraine can result in a crash of the International Space Station, they removed all the flags of countries participating in a space program from a rocket they are launching, except the flag of India.
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Russian space agency ROSCOSMOS chief Dimitry Rogozin posted a video showing workers at the Baikonur launch pad covering up the flags of USA, Japan and UK on the OneWeb rocket which is scheduled to be launched on Friday. However, the flag of India was left intact.
In September 2002, amid large-scale cancellations of flights at Beijing airport and massive military build-up in Beijing, rumours about a coup in China started doing the rounds for a few days.
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OpIndia did a comprehensive debunking of that rumour.
On the 5th of June, BJP suspended the now-former spokesperson of the party, Nupur Sharma, after certain Muslim countries started getting irate about certain comments she had made during a debate (basically, quoting the Hadit).
There was widespread condemnation by the Hindus for the manner in which Nupur Sharma was being hounded by the Islamists. However, there were still some Hindus who believed that what Nupur Sharma said as a response, after a Muslim panelist made disparaging statements against Hindus, was ‘unnecessary’.
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Hindus today might believe that Nupur Sharma’s comment was “unnecessary”, but if there was a word of caution, it would be this – tomorrow, they will say your very existence, the existence of the dirty Kafir that they are theologically and viscerally meant to hate is an affront to their faith.
In February 2022, Enforcement Directorate attached assets worth Rs 1.77 crores of alleged journalist Rana Ayyub under the Money Laundering Act. The ED, in its attachment order said, “Rana Ayyub has cheated the general Public Donors in a pre-planned manner and with the intention to cheat the general public donors”.
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The order says that Rana Ayyub’s scam started right from the time she collected the money and started withdrawing it from the savings account of herself and her family members. The ED order further said that a Fixed Deposit amounting to Rs. 50 Lakh was booked from her saving bank account through net banking and opening a separate Current bank account and subsequently, funds were transferred from her saving bank account and bank account of her sister and father and did not utilize for the purpose for which it was raised by Rana Ayyub.
In January, a Hindu man from Tamil Nadu’s Kanchipuram has decided to donate his house worth Rs. 2 Crore after being fed up with children who have converted to Christianity.
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Velayudham who retired as a health inspector in the TN state government owns a 2,680 sq. ft. house worth Rs. 2 Crores. While talking to a local Tamil daily Dinamalar, he lamented that he had built this house with hard-earned money. He informed that all three of his children have married Christians and have converted to Christianity, so there is nobody left in the family to perform his final rites as per Hindu tradition.
‘The Kashmir Files’ movie made thousands of people realise the harsh reality of Kashmir and the brutal genocide that had been converted up or denied for all these years. Some were are finding it hard to accept that the movie is based on true stories and that the victims of the episode were never heard. The dialogues of the movie like – “The truth of Kashmir is so true that people may find it unbelievable”, “Broken people don’t speak, they just need to be heard”, “This is a huge war of information, narratives”, have shaken the widely held notions established by decades of whitewashing and denials.
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In this article, we delved into the true incidents that were depicted in the gut wrenching movie that took India by storm.
The movie The Kashmir Files, director by Vivek Agnihotri sent the liberal establishment in a tizzy in 2022. The entire ecosystem went from trashing the movie to denying the brutal genocide of Kashmiri Hindus in 1990s at the hands of the Muslims of Kashmir.
One attempt at this was made by the website of Anupama Chopra, who published a review of the movie and denied the genocide of Kashmiri Hindus.
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OpIndia published a comprehensive rebuttal of the review posted by Anupama Chopra’s website, showing how they were essentially using the movie to deny the genocide of Hindus in Kashmir.
As Russia started attacking military installations in Ukraine, there were speculations that the United State’s Biolabs that have been established in Ukraine in the name of research and defence are also among the targets. The US has several such labs in Ukraine under its “Biological Threat Reduction Program”.
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As per the details made available by the US government, the US Department of Defense’s Biological Threat Reduction Program has been working with partner countries to “to counter the threat of outbreaks (deliberate, accidental, or natural) of the world’s most dangerous infectious diseases.”
On several occasions, Russia has accused the US and Ukraine of developing bio-weapons close to its borders. In 2021, while talking about the inability of the World Health Organisation to establish the origin of the Covid-19 virus, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev told Kommersant reporter that Russia believed the US was developing bio-weapons near its borders.
On Saturday (November 12), the Delhi police nabbed a man named Aftab Amin Poonawalla for the gruesome murder of 26-year-old Shraddha Walkar. The victim’s body was chopped into 35 pieces and disposed off in 18 different locations by the accused.
When the news of the heinous crime went viral, the usual suspects began contradicting the religious affiliation of Aftab Amin Poonawalla. They claimed that the accused is a Parsi by Faith and his barbaric act was being used to ‘defame’ the Muslim community.
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OpIndia did a comprehensive fact-check on these fallacious claims.
The year 2020 saw an onslaught of fake news and propaganda spread not just by the mainstream media, but by politicians and ‘social media influencers’ as well. From Hinduphobic lies spread by western “professors” like Audrey Truschke to so-called ‘fact-checkers’, who are nothing more than apologists for radical Islamists spreading blatant lies, including fancying themselves as Nobel nominees – 2022 saw it all.
OpIndia, on its part, tried its best to bust as many lies as we possibly could. Here are top 20 fact-checks done by OpIndia in the year 2022, in no particular order.
1. Audrey Truschke repeats lie debunked in court, says belly of pregnant Muslim woman was cut during Gujarat riots: Here are the facts
Hinduphobic professor Audrey Truschke of Rutgers University in the USA, who keeps spreading fake news against Hindus and against India, did it again. But this time she posted a claim on Twitter which has been proven as a lie long ago. On November 26, she posted a tweet saying, “In 2002, Modi oversaw a massacre of Muslims in Gujarat. They burnt shops, cut open the bellies of pregnant women, raped, and killed thousands.”
She further claimed that BJP is “celebrating those horrors”, citing a report that misquoted home minister Amit Shah’s speech yesterday in Gujarat.
OpIndia did a comprehensive fact-check of these Hinduphobic claims by Truschke. The full fact-check can be read here.
2. How propaganda was crafted to promote an out-on-bail fact-checker while he did not even make it to the shortlist by Soros-funded NGO for Nobel Peace Prize
October 5 was no less than Eid for the liberal cabal as their two favourite self-proclaimed fact-checkers and founders of propaganda website Alt News, Muhammed Zubair and Pratik Sinha, made the list of Time’s “favourites to win the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize“. The list of “favourites” was published by Time based on nominations that were made public via “Norwegian lawmakers, bookmakers’ odds, and a personal shortlist by the director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO).”
3. Was one Maulana Ataullah Qasmi burnt alive by Bajrang Dal worker in Shahdol as claimed by propaganda website and AIMIM’s Owaisi? Here’s the truth
On September 29, a New Delhi-based ‘independent news site’ courted controversy after falsely attributing the murder of an exorcist, accused of sexually harassing a woman, to Bajrang Dal. The deceased was identified as one Maulana Ataullah Qasmi.
In a tweet, ‘The Jamia Times’ wrote, “Maulana Ataullah Qasmi, a resident of Jharkhand, was burnt by a Bajrang Dal worker, and the body was thrown in the forest.”
This, however, was a lie, which was also promoted by elements like AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi. In reality, the man who murdered him, had taken a woman to the Maulana for an exorcism, in the hopes that it would cure her ailments. Having won the trust of Yadav, the accused, Qasmi exploited the opportunity to sexually harass the woman. Angered by his act, the accused killed the exorcist and doused his body with the petrol from his bike.
There was no Bajrang Dal or communal link to the murder as claimed by Jamia Times or Asaduddin Owaisi. Our fact-check can be read here.
4. Fact-check: Did Rahul Gandhi meet ‘activist’ Amulya Leona during Bharat Jodo Yatra, who raised pro-Pakistan slogan in 2020 during anti-CAA protest
On September 23, several posts emerged that claimed that Congress scion Rahul Gandhi had met anti-India activist Amulya Leona Noronha during his ambitious ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra.’ After tweets on social media, a Whatsapp message also went viral where it was claimed that Rahul Gandhi had met Amulya Leona.
In February 2020, Amulya Leona Noronha created a ruckus during a public meeting of AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi. She raised slogans of ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ and was attempting to say more but was dragged off the stage by those present.
This claim, however, was untrue. Rahul Gandhi had not met Amulya Leona during his Bharat Jodo Yatra stint. In our fact-check, we debunked this rumour and identified the individual who Rahul Gandhi had actually met. Our fact-check can be read here.
5. Karnataka: Islamists share a stabbing incident at Chitradurga with a fake communal angle, here is the truth
On July 4, a piece of news about the stabbing of a 38-year-old Muslim man named Samiullah began doing the rounds of the internet. The story was tweeted by several handles with Muslim names with the hashtag #JusticeForSamiullah. It was alleged that the man was a resident of the Chitradurga district of Karnataka and was stabbed by a 22-year-old Hindu man named Nutan Gowda. It was also claimed that the accused was a member of the Sangh Parivar and that the stabbing incident was a hate crime.
The Chitradurga district police had debunked the ‘communal angle’ theory even before #JusticeForSamiullah began trending on Twitter. The OpIndia report on the fact check can be read here.
6. Al Jazeera spreads fake news over Maulvi’s death in Bihar, blames Hindus while local reports suggest family’s property dispute
On June 19, media house Al Jazeera Arabic published a report claiming Hindus killed a Maulvi in Siwan (Bihar). The image posted in the tweet has a message in Arabic that read, “Social media sites are buzzing with pictures of the imam of the mosque of Jeddah after he was killed by Hindus who beheaded him while he was sleeping in a mosque in the village of Khalispur in Siwan, eastern India. Calling for an investigation into the crime and calls for the “Justice of Imam Siwan” hashtag to hold the killers accountable.”
The reality behind the death of Maulvi in district Siwan of Bihar is far from what Aj Jazeera has claimed.
The Police believed he was killed on the pretext of personal enmity over a piece of land. Station in-charge Vinod Kumar Singh said a case was filed in the matter based on the complaint of family members, and a probe was initiated. Ahmed was involved in a dispute over land ownership. The OpIndia report on the fact check can be read here.
7. Scroll spreads fake news that ‘4 Dalit tanners were killed by upper-caste mob for skinning a dead cow in Gujarat’s Una’: Here’s the truth
Two days after the Assam police arrested Gujarat Congress supporter and Vadgam MLA Jignesh Mevani over his objectionable tweets, Scroll published a report to attack the BJP government in Gujarat. In a bid to portray the BJP government as intolerant and remorseless toward its detractors, the leftist propaganda website ‘Scroll’ resorted to peddling fake news by distorting a 2016 news story.
The leftist media portal wrote that “four Dalit tanners were killed by an upper-caste mob for skinning a dead cow in Una in 2016”, whereas the fact is that the villagers had beaten up four cow smugglers for skinning a live cow. They were not ‘killed’ by any ‘upper-caste’ mob, as claimed by Scroll.
8. Did over 700 farmers die during anti-farm bill protests at Delhi borders? A detailed analysis of the data reveals the truth
A lot of noise was made around the alleged deaths of protesting farmers who participated in farmer protests against now-repealed Agriculture Laws. One of the demands that the farmer unions had put forward in front of the union and state governments is to provide compensation to the families of the farmers who died during the protest. As per reports and claims made by the farmer unions, around 700-750 farmers allegedly died during the protests.
Out of 702 deaths checked by analyst Vijay Patel, only 191 of them lost their lives at the Delhi border protest sites. 340 of them died after returning home from the protest sites. It is unclear on what basis the farmer unions connected these deaths to farmer protests. Another 108 people lost their lives while on the way to the site of the protests or on the way back home. The reasons for such deaths included hit-and-run cases as well.
9. Times of India attempts to downplay West Bengal post-poll violence, twists CBI sending 21 rape cases back to state formed SIT
The heinous post-poll violence unleashed in the state of West Bengal has been whitewashed ever since the Assembly elections. The media has hardly reported on the crimes of rape, murder and looting and turned a blind eye. After the High Court came down heavily on the Mamata Banerjee government, the CBI has been investigating the cases. However, the media was still at the job of whitewashing the brutal post-poll violence in Bengal after the assembly elections where Mamata Banerjee won with a thumping majority.
Times of India report published on January 4 that was headlined: “Post-poll violence in Bengal: No proof in 21 rape, rape-attempt cases mentioned by NHRC, CBI says”.
However, the headline by the Times of India was incorrect and misleading. Essentially, the CBI moved 21 cases of rape or attempted rape that occurred during the West Bengal post-poll violence to a state-formed SIT in order to acquire additional evidence because it was unable to locate enough in these cases. The full fact-check on the chicanery by TOI can be read here.
10. Ibrahim Hooper of CAIR blames ‘Hindutva’ and ‘Islamophobia’ in India after a Muslim mob beats up a Muslim couple for watching Kantara
On 9th December 2022, Ibrahim Hooper from Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) took to his Twitter account to complain about ‘Hindutva’ and ‘Islamophobia’ in India after a Muslim mob beat up a Muslim couple. Hooper shared news from the Free Press Journal with a caption that suggested Muslims in India are under threat from Hindus.
Interestingly, while it was a Muslim mob that beat up a Muslim couple for watching the movie Kantaara, Hooper from CAIR claimed that it was Hindus who had beaten up the couple of fearmongered about how Muslims were under threat in India. Our full fact-check can be read here.
11. Did BJP MLA threaten Muslims with no development if they don’t vote for him? AltNews’ Zubair spreads lies, Muslims say ‘ready to fact check misleading claims’
On the 13th of December, AltNews’ out-on-bail fact-checker, who fancied himself as winning the Nobel prize (which also turned out to be fake news) shared a video of Karnataka BJP MLA Preetam Gowda. In the tweet where he shared the video, Mohammad Zubair said, “BJP MLA Preetam Gowda from Hassan, Karnataka warns Muslims of not taking up any development work if they do not vote for him in the coming elections”.
However, this was untrue and the ‘fact-checker’ wilfully spread fake news. It is clear from the video and the transcript of his speech that he did not say that he will withhold development work in the area, instead, he said he will not be doing personal favours for them. The BJP MLA categorically says, “Water, road and drainage work will be done as it is my duty, but I will not be there for your personal work”. OpIndia also accessed what local Muslims were saying about the speech by the BJP MLA. The full fact-check can be read here.
12. No, Aftab Amin Poonawalla is not a Parsi but a Muslim: Here is the truth about the murderer of Shraddha Walkar
On November 12, the Delhi police nabbed a man named Aftab Amin Poonawalla for the gruesome murder of 26-year-old Shraddha Walkar. The victim’s body was chopped into 35 pieces and disposed off in 18 different locations by the accused.
When the news of the heinous crime went viral, the usual suspects began contradicting the religious affiliation of Aftab Amin Poonawalla. They claimed that the accused is a Parsi by Faith and his barbaric act was being used to ‘defame’ the Muslim community.
13. Congress leader shares image of Nigerian crowd in Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra
Jitendra Patwari, State President of the Madhya Pradesh Congress, uploaded a fake image of a huge crowd on Twitter and portrayed it as the multitude of people participating in Congress family scion and revered figure in the party Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra.
OpIndia reverse-searched the image and found that it is not a photo of Congress’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. The image was captured in Nigeria during the Azusa Street Revival crusade. The full fact-check can be read here.
14. Virologist Dr Robert Malone claims UP govt withheld info from US about health kits handed out to Covid-19 patients: Here is the truth
American virologist and immunologist, Dr Robert Malone, courted controversy after he claimed that the Uttar Pradesh government in India refused to divulge information about its Covid-19 treatment procedure with the United States government.
However, to suggest that none knew about the contents of the medicine kits is a far-fetched claim, which is not grounded in reality. And for Dr Rober Malone to even insinuate that the Indian government withheld such a piece of information, already existing in the public domain, from the US government has no semblance of truth in it. Read OpIndia’s full fact-check here.
15. Raghuram Rajan: The establishment man, who descends on India when the weather is pleasant, now lies about PLIs helping Ambanis and Adanis
Raghuram Rajan said that PLI (production linked incentive scheme) only helps “well-connected” firms. To make his point clear he names the very same industrialists that have been demonised and abused on daily basis by corrupt dynasts – Ambani and Adani. For good measure, he added Tatas.
This, however, is patently false. You can read our full article here.
16. Was Queen Elizabeth 2, head of the Church of England, a descendant of Prophet Muhammad?
Following the death of British Queen Elizabeth II on September 8 at the age of 96, various statements emerged, reinvigorating a long-debated claim that the monarch had ancestral links to Prophet Muhammad, the founding leader of Islam.
According to the claim, the British monarch is a great descendant of Prophet Muhammad. Her ancestors have been traced back for centuries, and there are doubts concerning Elizabeth’s probable ancestry from a Muslim princess named Zaida, as well as Zaida’s own origins and offspring.
OpIndia published a report tracing whatever we know about this theory. You can read the full article here.
17. Fact-Check: Did PM Modi try to click a photograph of cheetahs with the lens cover on
On September 17, a few photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi went viral on social media, where it was claimed that he tried to click photographs of Cheetah released on Konu National Park while the lens cover was on. Many Congress leaders, TMC leaders shared the morphed image in a bid to mock PM Modi on his birthday.
Upon examination of the photographs in circulation, it was clear that the lens cover was not on and politicians were using a morphed image to mock the Prime Minister. Read the full fact-check here.
18. NDTV twists ‘pro-choice’ comment of boxer Nikhat Zareen to legitimise Karnataka hijab row, other media houses amplify misinformation
Days after Nikhat Zareen brought accolades to India by winning gold at the Women’s Boxing World Championships, leftist media portal NDTV deliberately misquoted her to give credence to the Karnataka hijab row.
Nikhat Zareen did not speak about the ‘right to wear hijab in schools’ or to make exceptions for anyone when it comes to school uniforms, however, NDTV deliberately twisted her statement. The OpIndia fact-check can be read here.
19. As Pfizer releases more than 80000 pages on its Covid-19 vaccine, claims about it flood social media: Here are the facts
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer published documents related to its m-RNA Covid-19 vaccine and the trials of the vaccine. The first batch of over 80,000 pages of documents were released on May 2, triggering many information and mis-information being spread about the vaccine on social media.
OpIndia did a comprehensive review of the facts related to the documents and the misinformation being spread. You can read the full article here.
20. ‘Nobel nominated fact-checker’ Md Zubair spreads fake news that Raghuram Rajan didn’t propose Islamic banking in India, uses a different unrelated report
On 15th December 2022, ‘fact-checker’ and Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair tried to ‘fact-check’ journalist Rahul Shivshankar but ended up spreading fake news himself. While Times Now editor Rahul Shivshankar had quoted a report by former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan that talked about Islamic banking, Zubair claimed that the report was by Dr. C Rangarajan.