Statistics show that Islamic grooming of Hindu girls is spreading like wildfire in UP’s (Uttar Pradesh) Bareilly District. This indicates a conspiracy to deliberately trap Hindu girls and reports state that they were pressurized to convert to Islam as all the accused were Muslim.

A Dainik Jagran report states that from January to July 10 this year, 46 girls have fallen prey to Islamic grooming. Statistics from Bareilly District confirm that there is a deeper conspiracy to deliberately trap these victims. The police are also believed to shy away from taking responsibility by simply filing a case of abduction without any further progress most of the time.

The statement of the victims has brought out the truth of the rising instances of grooming in the district. Their statements have been recorded before the child welfare committee. The victims have also confirmed that most of them were kept in the dark about the actual religious identity of the accused and were pressurized to convert to Islam.

Available information suggests that in the first six months of this year around 250 cases in which minors are victims have come to the fore. Of these close to 46 girls were allegedly trapped by Muslim men which translates to at least 7 girls falling prey to Islamic grooming every month. It has further come to light that some of these girls were forcibly converted as well. Eight of the victims have alleged that the Muslim men falsely identified themselves as Hindus to enter into a relationship with them.

Five of them were even instigated by these men to steal jewelry and money from their homes. These girls realized the real identity of the accused only after they eloped with them. A local leader’s daughter is also among the victims. The minor girl was trapped by a Muslim man Dawood who had come to install a CCTV camera at her place.

The girl fled from home with jewelry and money on June 26. When the duo was caught on June 28, she revealed that Dawood’s family members were also involved, and following this, the police registered a case against Dawood. He was booked for rape and arrested as per provisions of the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act.

Another 15-year-old minor was befriended by Amir using a fake Hindu name. He then began frequenting the teenager’s area and attempted to meet her several times. Later he tricked the girl into a relationship. He even purchased a mobile for her so that they could remain in touch with her. He was successful in brainwashing the girl by promising to take her on tours both within and outside the country. He tricked the girl into fleeing with him one night. He took her to Punjab where he performed nikah (marriage as per Islamic rituals) with her.

It was only when Amir brought up the subject of nikah that the girl realized his true identity. She confronted him and questioned why he had identified himself as a Hindu. Amir, yet again, succeeded in convincing her through his sweet talks. The duo did nikah and she subsequently became pregnant.

After their nikah, Amir even stopped the girl from talking to her parents. However, the girl finally succeeded in contacting her parents and narrated the entire story to them. They filed a report and brought her home from Punjab. The girl was five months pregnant at this time.

In another instance, one of the girls was befriended by Baarish who took on a Hindu name to win the girl’s trust and slowly brainwashed her into eloping with him. Baarish even succeeded in brainwashing her into stealing just like Amir did. She also ran away after stealing jewelry and money from her home one night. Her family registered a case and the police recovered the girl. They also booked Baarish under POCSO and arrested him.

Child Welfare Committee (CWC) member Dr. Rakhi Chauhan confirmed that the two girls had registered their statements with the committee last month. She further stated that the girls narrated their entire ordeal and the CWC sent them to their parents. They have been asked to report to CWC every month. CWC chairman Dinesh Chandra said that such instances have increased this year in comparison to last year. He added that the CWC has to deal with 6-7 such cases every month. “We record their statement and send them to their parents or a shelter home depending on the situation”, he signed off.