Beauty Institute Director Booked After Hindu Trainees Allege Pressure To Enter Relationships For Islamic Conversion

The director of a beauty and make-up institute in Moradabad district, Uttar Pradesh, has been booked on charges of hurting religious sentiments after some Hindu trainees complained that she was forcing them to convert to Islam.

Following a complaint by three trainees — two women and one man — the Moradabad police have charged Rakshanda Khan under Sections 299 (deliberate and malicious acts to outrage religious feelings), 351(2) (criminal intimidation), and 318(1) (dishonest concealment of facts) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

The complainants submitted a written statement to the District Magistrate on Monday, after which a case was filed at the Civil Lines police station.

Although Swarajya has not yet been able to reach the complainants, local media reports say that they informed the District Magistrate that Khan discriminated against Hindu men, predominantly hiring Muslim men and Hindu women as staff.

The women complainants, Tanya Chaudhary and Swati Pal, alleged that Khan often encouraged them to enter relationships with Muslim men to facilitate conversion to Islam through marriage.

According to the complaints, Khan herself converted to Islam and married a man, changing her name from Sapna to Rakshanda.

In addition to these accusations, the complainants alleged that Khan committed fraud by replacing original high-quality products with inferior substitutes, causing skin-related issues for trainees and clients.

The Moradabad police issued a statement today on their X (formerly Twitter) account, detailing the BNS sections invoked against Khan and promising a thorough investigation.

On Tuesday, activists from Hindu organisations, including Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s Bajrang Dal, staged a protest outside the institute, which is a franchise of Lakme. They burned an effigy labeled Rakshanda Khan and read the Hanuman Chalisa outside the institute, reports said.