The so-called “left-liberal” news portal The Wire, has consistently sought to downplay or outright reject the notion of ‘Love Jihad’ in India, now finds itself embroiled in a disturbing controversy involving one of its own contributors. A woman has come forward with harrowing allegations of sexual violence, psychological torment, and repeated physical abuse at the hands of Omar Rashid, a journalist associated with the platform.
In a now widely circulated Instagram post, the unnamed woman details her traumatic experiences, alleging that Rashid—significantly older and well-connected in Delhi’s liberal media ecosystem—groomed her under the guise of progressive ideals. She claims he initiated contact by discussing politics and sharing curated walks in Delhi’s Lodhi Gardens, a tactic she believes he has used with multiple women. Portraying himself as a sensitive, progressive Muslim man—an animal lover, foodie, and a grieving son—Rashid allegedly used this facade to manipulate and trap victims.
She alleged, “This is a public call-out of Omar Rashid, who is a violent serial assaulter and rapist masquerading as a progressive journalist. Having worked for reputed news outlets like The Hindu and the Outlook, and currently at The Wire, he has a pattern of using his position to get into relationships with women and indulge in intimate-partner violence and extreme forms of misogynistic and anti-women sexual behavior. I am attempting to ensure that no crucial details of the incidents are missed out, so that other women reading this are aware of the pattern of abuse employed by this person and stay safe in the future. I am crying as I write this and my hands are trembling, as I relive every detail of those horrifying days and nights with Omar. But after internalizing immense guilt and shame, and understanding that another woman has lived and might be living through this as I am writing this, I want to put out the most shameful and crass details of the hell that he put me through. I have learnt that he baits women through a very specific pattern, the same pattern which he employed to bat me. He uses his social media to portray a very progressive, emotionally considerate image of him. On his social media he has build an image of him as a charming, progressive, pet lover, foodie guy who has lost his mother. He starts his game by inviting women to walks to the Lodhi Garden, something which I have got to hear from several women. I am ashamed to confess that I too am a victim of these manipulative tactics, which i came to realize at a much later stage. When I first got to know him through Instagram, it was days of chatting about progressive politics and how nice of a guy Omar is. It was followed by conversations about love, emotional intimacy, and the mega concept of romance found in literature. As a woman new to the city, and much younger than him, I relied on him to navigate through the progressive spaces and Delhi. He used to take me to Press Club events, as his “trophy friend” (not trophy wife, since he refused to publically acknowledge our relationship), and a token progressive feminist acquaintance.”
Describing him as a habitual abuser and serial rapist, the woman recounts being repeatedly beaten, slapped, kicked, and subjected to violent sexual assaults. Throughout the course of their so-called relationship, she says she endured unrelenting sexual humiliation, brutal beatings, and rape that often left her bloodied and bruised. The victim further alleges that Rashid consistently refused to use protection during intercourse, leading to multiple gynecological issues, including repeated visits to doctors for abortions and treatment for STIs—consequences she links to Rashid’s sexual involvement with numerous other individuals.
She further added, “Very soon, this escalated out of hand and turned out into my worst nightmares, which were to continue to define my life for the coming months. It continues to haunt me to this very moment as I type this, but here it is. Throughout this relationship, as a feminist admitting what was done to me throughout the relationship, I was physically pushed around, kicked, slapped, almost choked to death, and abused in unimaginable ways both physically and sexually. I was always forced into surrendering into having unprotected and violent sex to a point where I found myself hiding in the washroom, crying uncontrollably with blood dripping down my thighs. I still remain in disbelief that Omar raped me. I cannot forget this reflection of mine which is imprinted in my head, and that I am still in disbelief and finding it difficult to navigate with the fact that this happened to me, and the Omar raped me- not once, not twice, but throoughout the period that I was with him. I still remember refusing to have sex, telling him an explicit NO, again and again, begging him because I was so fearful of his rage all this time. I imagined and kept living in the anxiety that I might get beaten up by Omar again, at any given point- which kept happening anyway, all the time.”
Despite her repeated pleas and explicit refusals, including during times of illness, Rashid allegedly continued to rape her, at times forcing her to hide in the bathroom to escape. One particularly disturbing allegation involves him coercing her into eating beef, despite her aversion and physical reaction to it—actions she says were part of his insistence on asserting his Kashmiri Muslim identity and her status as a “non-Muslim.”
She said, “Numerous times that I was forced into sex, I was chronically unwell and unwilling. At those times, Omar would then force me to beg him for forgiveness, while he laughed and ate in front of me like nothing had happened. This happened while he kept chatting with other women on his phone. On all the occasions, he refused to use a condom to assert his power over me. I had to deal with being forcefully impregnated at all occasions, and I kept visiting the gynec secretly- because he would not allow me to seek treatment. Apart from pregnancy scares, because he was constantly cheating on me (sleeping with other women since we were not in a relationship), I always lived in a fear of getting STDs. I had rashes and yeast infections, and hormonal imbalances caused by regularly taking i-pills. As stated before, I had to seek medical help secretively, since I was made to believe by Omar that I was hysterical in all my pregnancy and STD scares.”
She claimed, “The most evil thing that happened every time that I got brutally beaten up, was Omar taking out his phone and recording me in that moment, my clothes and hair disheveled- to portray me as a hysterical woman. All this while he constantly surveilled me, where I went, whom I talked to, censored my social media, moral policing my daily life, my dietary choices- while constantly telling me how ugly I looked. He used to degrade me by dictating every aspect of my life, in the ways as that Omar pleased. He had a problem with my diet, with what I eat and what I don’t. He used to regularly force me to consume beef- as some weird test of secularism. I used to puke every time I was forced into it, and he derived a sadistic pleasure out of that- the same way in which he derived pleasure from seeing me beg on his feet, so that he does not describe the imagery of he having sex with my mother. He also used to make me imagine having sex with my male friends and colleagues- especially the older ones. It was more traumatizing because those men were the age of my grandfather.”
She also claims he deliberately destroyed her possessions, including irreplaceable family heirlooms, knowing she was financially vulnerable. The post describes scenes of abject degradation—being made to grovel, subjected to degrading comments involving her family, and physically attacked.
She alleged, “He broke my most expensive possessions, some of which were a gift from my father and closest friends, all this while knowing that I lived hand-to-mouth, and as a power move to torture me. I kept begging for him to stop smashing my things on the floor and the wall, but he would proceed to do smash them harder to make me cry and beg even more (also followed by recording me cry and beg on the camera). I am ashamed that I kept grabbing his feet, begging Omar not to do this, and asking what he was getting out of breaking.”
While the survivor explicitly states she does not wish to communalize her ordeal, she emphasizes that her story reflects a broader, systemic problem—of powerful men, especially in media and professional spaces, preying on younger, vulnerable women.
She said, “Omar always kept reminding me of my identity as a “non-muslim” in the hindu rashtra, and how this relation needed to be kept secret for the greater good of the muslim men, and the idea of this being seen as love jihad. This was what made me keep quiet for the longest time, since I knew the hindutva brigade’s possible reaction to it. However, I recently got to know that there are more women than me-that it makes it a #WeToo, not really a #MeToo. I want to make this clear that this is not to be seen as a communal or ethnic issue- what Omar kept repeating throughout by proclaiming his kashmiri muslim identity, but rather an account of one person who chose to weaponise all of this to get sadistic pleasure out of this by tormenting young progessive women, while guilt-tripping them into silence because they would play into the hindutva hands by calling him out. He always used to say that he will destroy me, my family, anything little that I have earned- but he has made sure that now, I have nothing left to lose. To all the young women reading this, it is not #MeToo, this has always been #WeToo.”
Please Stop Turning Our Pain Into Fuel for Your Hate-Filled Politics
In a recent heartfelt message, the survivor expressed deep anguish over how her words are being distorted to inflame Islamophobia and direct hostility toward The Wire, a media outlet she still regards as committed to ethical journalism in India. She made it unequivocally clear: her ordeal is not about religion. It’s not about being Kashmiri. It’s not about being Muslim. It’s not even about gender alone. It’s about patriarchy — a deeply ingrained culture of male entitlement that permeates every layer of society.
She chose to speak out because all other avenues for justice seemed blocked. Since coming forward, she has faced vicious slut-shaming — something she anticipated, but which still stings because of how normalized such cruelty has become. Those now exploiting her trauma to push a communal narrative, she said, were never truly concerned about women. They conveniently use the image of a “Hindu sister” only when it serves their agenda of hate.
She reflected bitterly on the toxic reactions, saying: “It’s not Hinduism that’s under threat — it’s being threatened by Hindus.” She clarified that she has no issue with beef consumption, pointing out that many Hindus eat beef. Her dietary choices are dictated by health conditions, not belief. What she suffered was not rooted in religious or culinary identity — it was about control, coercion, and dominance.
She reaffirmed her belief in the Indian Constitution — in liberty, the freedom she was denied; in equality, the dignity taken from her; in fraternity, the solidarity that online trolls are tearing apart. The man who abused her could have been from any faith. His religion did not cause his violence — his predatory mindset did. He was an abuser, plain and simple.
Her decision to go public was driven by a fear for the safety of other women. This, she emphasized, is about a repeat offender, a man who exploited and harmed — and about the daily violence that countless women endure. She urged people not to hijack her story for Hindutva propaganda or erase her experience to make space for political narratives.
Addressing Hindu men directly, she condemned the obsession with Muslim identity that has come at the cost of silencing Hindu women. There is no such thing as “Love Jihad,” she argued — only a deeply patriarchal society that uses invented threats to control women, even within so-called progressive spaces.
This issue is not religious — it’s systemic. It’s male violence, and it exists across communities. Reducing it to a communal battle distorts the truth and perpetuates the very brutality women are trying to escape. Using survivors’ trauma as a political weapon only adds to the bloodshed.
Kashmir, she added, is already suffering. And while she mourns what she personally went through, she also grieves the broader damage — to the cause of Kashmir, to the struggle for dignity of Muslims in India, who face daily threats, discrimination, and violence.
Her message is a plea to conscience: stand with survivors, not with hatred. And to those who have shown solidarity — she offers heartfelt thanks.
The Wire’s Response
In response to the allegations, The Wire issued a public statement acknowledging the seriousness of the accusations against Omar Rashid. The statement clarified that Rashid had been contributing to the outlet as a freelance journalist and confirmed that an internal investigation, in line with applicable legal procedures, is currently underway.
The Wire stated, “The Wire has taken serious note of the social media posts that have made grave allegations against Mr. Omar Rashid, who has been contributing to The Wire for the past couple of years as an independent journalist. We will be conducting an inquiry as per relevant laws and procedures applicable in the matter, and decide on how to best move forward to address the allegations raised in the posts.”
For years, The Wire and similar ideologically aligned outlets have vehemently denied the existence of what is commonly referred to as “Love Jihad“—a term used to describe the alleged targeting of Hindu and Christian women by Muslim men under false pretenses, often resulting in forced conversions, abuse, and long-term trauma. Critics argue this pattern is rooted in extremist interpretations that regard non-Muslim women as subhuman, fit only for subjugation and exploitation.
This disturbing case has reignited debates around such issues, especially given the backdrop of historical and ongoing incidents—ranging from the UK’s grooming gang scandals and the Yazidi women enslaved by ISIS, to the infamous Ajmer abuse case and the Islamist conversion rackets operating in Kerala. Observers claim that far from being relics of the past, these patterns persist in today’s world—often enabled or ignored by the very same liberal institutions that claim to champion justice and equality.
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