Over the past decade, cases of Love Jihad, where Hindu girls are lured into relationships with Muslim men under false pretenses and later coerced into conversion, have surged across India. What was once dismissed as a “conspiracy theory” by left-liberal circles has now become an undeniable reality, with police records, court cases, and victim testimonies exposing a systematic pattern of exploitation.
Alarmingly, the methods employed by Islamic fundamentalists have evolved beyond traditional deception. Investigations reveal that Hindu girls are now being targeted through drug addiction, social media grooming, online gaming traps, and even cafe-based exploitation rings raising serious concerns about the safety of young women in India.
Narcotics Jihad: Drugging, Exploitation, and Forced Conversions
Recent cases from Bhopal, Indore, Nainital, and Bijnor highlight a disturbing trend where Hindu girls are first addicted to drugs, then sexually exploited, and ultimately blackmailed into converting to Islam.
Bhopal Drug Gang Bust (July 2025): Police arrested Yasin Machli and Shahwar Machli, who were part of a narcotics syndicate targeting Hindu college girls. Investigations revealed that the gang supplied MD drugs to victims, physically exploited them, and later pushed them into drug peddling and conversion.
Indore’s Musakhedi Case: Zeeshan Khan posed as Abhishek Thakur to trap a Hindu girl, made her drug-dependent, and then blackmailed her with intimate videos to force conversion.
Nainital Horror (July 2025): A 30-year-old Muslim man trapped an 11th-grade Hindu girl in a “love trap,” drugged her, and turned her against her family. Hindu organizations had to intervene to rescue her.
Even Bishop Mar Joseph Kallarangat of Kerala’s Syro-Malabar Church had warned about “Narcotics Jihad”, where girls are first addicted to substances and then brainwashed into converting.
Karnataka isn’t immune: In Mangaluru, a Hindu girl disappeared, and an investigation led to drug smuggler Shahrukh of Puttur being implicated. The mechanism alleged in all these instances remains largely the same – introduce drugs, compromise the victim, collect incriminating material, then initiate relentless pressure to convert.
Celebrities and Drug Conversion Angle
Not just ordinary individuals, but even well-known personalities have reportedly been affected. For example, a 2020 case involving a Kannada actress emerged as a potential intersection of drugs and religious brainwashing; she had allegedly been introduced to Islamic teachings over a decade. The rise of such cases led to increased calls for investigation into the “drug angle” behind religious conversion.
“Love Trap” – The Expanding Arsenal
Several notorious cases have captured nationwide attention:
Shraddha Walkar (Delhi, 2023): Killed and dismembered by Aftab, with alleged elements of manipulation and serial deceit.
Priya-Kashish Case (Meerut, 2020): Priya and her daughter Kashish were murdered by Shamshad, who had posed as Amit Gurjar.
Pinky Gupta (Ghaziabad): Victim of identity fraud and suicide after being misled by a married man masquerading under a false name.
These cases are not isolated; reports suggest over 150 such cases were covered by OpIndia in 2023 alone, continuing a pattern also observed in previous years. The expanding reach of social media has reportedly facilitated this, enabling perpetrators to connect with girls beyond their immediate neighborhoods and increasingly across state lines.
Role of Social Media: Instagram and Facebook
Social media platforms are frequently cited as tools of deception. Perpetrators allegedly create false identities on Instagram and Facebook, using Hindu names and religious symbols to lower suspicion. Once trust is established, victims are lured into physical meetings, compromised, and then blackmailed with images and videos leaving conversion as the only perceived escape from social disgrace.
Multiple recent cases illustrate this:
Shahbad Dairy (Delhi, 2023): A girl befriended on Instagram was brutally murdered by Mohammad Sahil.
Gautam Buddha Nagar (2025): Mubassir, posing as Sachin, reportedly trapped multiple girls via Instagram, marrying and then pressuring them for conversion.
Mainpuri (UP): The disappearance of a 17-year-old was traced to her Instagram contact, Abdullah, who allegedly kidnapped her.
Priya-Shamshad and Similar Facebook Cases: Victims lured into marriages before discovering the true identity of the perpetrator.
Online Gaming and New-Age Brainwashing
The domain of online gaming has emerged as a platform for grooming and brainwashing. “Operation Kalanemi” exposed a pan-India criminal network leveraging online games to befriend Hindu minors, followed by indoctrination, identity alteration, forced marriage, and conversion. Specific cases detailed Pakistani and Dubai-based handlers, with gangs funding and tutoring girls in Arabic and encouraging conversion. The use of “reverted Muslims”, people who themselves had converted, was reported as a tool for convincing new targets.
Other notable incidents include:
Kutch, Gujarat (2024): A minor seduced on a gaming platform by “Jigar,” later revealed as Ziyad (Sameer Sheikh), subjected to blackmail through incriminating photos.
Jabalpur: A girl, lured during a game, was trafficked after meeting the perpetrator in Mumbai.
Bihar-Madhya Pradesh: Salman, a local egg vendor, allegedly used the PUBG game to introduce himself under a Hindu pseudonym, later compelling religious conversion after meeting in person.
Cafes and Clubs: Modern Venues for Exploitation
Recent revelations suggest that cafes and clubs have become venues for criminal networks, sometimes with the complicity of business operators:
Dehradun’s 7th Heaven Cafe, Vikas Mall: Alleged love jihad incident surfaced when a Hindu girl sought help from Bajrang Dal supporters.
Bhilwara, Rajasthan (March 2024): A cafe was cited in a case of gang-rape and subsequent conversion threats, resulting in eight arrests.
Beawar (February 2025): Reports of systematic sexual harassment and conversion attempts inside cafes.
Club-90 (Bhopal): Claims of systematic exploitation and filming of Hindu students; administrative action commenced with lease cancellations and demolition of illegal structures.
Parallels with British “Grooming Gangs”
Observers draw comparison between the documented “grooming gangs” active in the UK from the 1980s to 2011, comprised largely of men of Pakistani origin, and the alleged patterns now being reported in India. In both settings, underage girls were targeted, drugged, sexually abused, blackmailed, or murdered, often with authorities initially unresponsive to victim pleas.
Victims’ statements, like that of “Emily,” who says she was raped over a thousand times since the age of 14 by such a gang in Britain, are invoked to underline the similarities in method and motive.
Love Jihad Is No Myth
Despite earlier claims that “love jihad” was a myth, the recent spate of high-profile cases and ongoing police investigations continue to attract widespread attention and concern. Methods now reportedly range from physical and digital deception, addiction, extortion, and forced conversion. As media and authorities expose new cases, community and religious organizations are reportedly becoming increasingly vigilant, and calls for increased parental awareness and intervention have grown louder.
(With inputs from OpIndia)
