Online Gaming, Fake Identities and Love Jihad

 

In 2023, two Hindu sisters were targeted by a Muslim youth through an online gaming platform. The accused introduced himself as a Hindu boy named "Guddu". Using this false identity, he befriended the sisters through video calls and chats over a period of nearly two years.

 

The accused, whose real name is Nawab, planned the entire conspiracy to trap the sisters through online gaming. Nawab lured the sisters, who were originally from Nepal but were residing in Uttarakhand.

 

When the girls' family learned the truth, they immediately lodged an FIR with the police regarding the entire incident. The police arrested Nawab, alias Guddu, from Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, on charges related to grooming and attempted love jihad. During interrogation, Nawab admitted that he had pretended to be a Hindu to gain the trust of the minor sisters and trap them.

 

 

Four sisters from Bihar went missing from their home without informing anyone in the family. The sisters regularly played the online game Free Fire and became acquainted with four boys through the game.

 

The accused promised the girls a better life and convinced them to leave their home. Based on a complaint filed by the family, the police traced the girls to Pune, Maharashtra. All four girls, along with one of their cousins who was also part of the same gaming group, were rescued safely, and the accused were arrested.

 

 

A case from Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, once again raised concerns regarding abduction and attempted love jihad. Qadir was arrested for luring a minor girl through the online game Free Fire.

 

The incident took place in September 2023. Qadir, who was also a minor and a resident of Shalimar Garden, Meerut, befriended the girl through online gaming. He manipulated her, persuaded her to meet him, and the minor left home on the pretext of attending coaching classes. She was subsequently abducted.

 

When the girl did not return home, her parents informed the police. The police later traced and safely recovered the minor. Qadir was arrested and booked, based on the victim's statement, under Sections 363 and 376(3) of the IPC, Sections 3 and 4 of the POCSO Act, and relevant provisions of the SC/ST Act.

 

Another case from Uttar Pradesh highlights a Muslim youth targeting a Hindu woman through the online game Free Fire. The accused, Tayyab Khan from Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, came into contact with the victim through an online gaming group, after which they began chatting on Instagram. Tayyab taught her Namaz and persuaded her to accept Islam.

 

According to the victim, she gradually distanced herself from her family, stopped visiting Hindu temples, and changed her name to Haniya. She further alleged that Tayyab threatened to commit suicide if she did not convert to Islam and also took photographs of her Aadhaar card. Her brother later filed a police complaint against Tayyab.

 

 

A woman from Mumbai became acquainted with Fujail, a resident of Moradabad, while playing PUBG. Fujail developed a romantic relationship with her and later brought her from Mumbai to Moradabad. He performed Nikah with her and changed her name to Zeenat.

 

According to the complaint, Fujail later began physically assaulting and harassing her, subjecting her to repeated abuse. The victim eventually contacted her mother and informed her about the harassment. She also attempted suicide by hanging and was admitted to hospital in critical condition. Her mother subsequently filed a complaint against Fujail and his father, Mohammad Aslam, at Galshaheed Police Station.

 

 

A woman from Odisha came into contact with Mohammad Sameer Mansuri through an online gaming application in 2022. What initially began as a friendship gradually developed into a romantic relationship.

 

According to the complaint, Sameer established physical relations with her and secretly recorded objectionable videos. When the woman later attempted to distance herself, Mansuri blackmailed her into converting to Islam and marrying him.

 

When she refused, he leaked the intimate videos on social media and circulated them among her family members and friends. He also demanded money from her father. Acting on the victim's complaint, the police laid a trap and arrested Mohammad Sameer Mansuri.

 

 

Another disturbing case from Madhya Pradesh raised questions after the statement, "Maal Aa Gaya, Station Se Utha Lo."

 

A minor girl from Jabalpur was deceived by Tanveer Alam from Uttar Pradesh, who posed as a female while playing the online game Free Fire. Tanveer befriended the girl by claiming to be like an elder sister and gradually gained her trust. He lured her out of her home, abducted her, and took her to Mumbai.

 

According to the teenager, during the train journey Tanveer was looking through photographs and messages involving several other girls. He also received multiple suspicious phone calls. As soon as he arrived at Mumbai railway station, Tanveer called someone and said, "Maal Aa Gaya, Station Se Utha Lo." Hearing this, the teenager realised that she was in danger and immediately approached a Government Railway Police (GRP) officer.

 

 

In Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, a Muslim youth named Sahil, a resident of Bhopal, was found with a Hindu woman at a hotel. He had been taking her to various temples while concealing his true identity.

 

Sahil befriended the young woman from Jabalpur through an online mobile game, brought her to Ujjain, and checked into a hotel using her Aadhaar card while refusing to provide his own Aadhaar card.

 

In January 2026, activists from a Hindu organisation received information that the youth was wearing a tilak on his forehead to conceal his identity and had taken the woman to visit Hindu temples. Upon arriving at the hotel and making inquiries, the activists discovered his actual Aadhaar card.

 

 

A married Muslim man, Jamir Kazi, who is the father of one child, lured an 11-year-old Hindu girl from Haryana through a gaming application by using the fake identity "Badshah". He convinced the minor to meet him and brought her to Maharashtra, where he kept her confined in his house for five days.

 

 

After the girl's family filed a missing person's report in Haryana, her brother tracked her location and reached Akola with the assistance of the local police. The girl was rescued safely from Jamir Kazi's custody, and the police arrested him. According to the investigation, Jamir targeted multiple girls by concealing his identity through gaming applications.

 

 

A minor Hindu girl, Misthu Bhattacharya, from West Bengal developed a relationship with an Islamist after meeting him through the online game Free Fire. According to the account, he groomed her and persuaded her to leave her parents and convert to Islam.

 

 

 

She later changed her name from Misthu to Ayesha and married him. In a video that subsequently went viral, she is seen wearing Islamic attire. According to the account, it is difficult to recognise from her appearance that she had previously identified as a Hindu.