India: Hindu Man Accuses Muslim Wife and In-Laws of Drugging and Forcibly Circumcising Him

Akhil Kumar Chandak, a Hindu man from Rajasthan, India, has accused his Muslim wife and her relatives of drugging him, forcibly circumcising him, and pressuring him to convert to Islam in Guwahati, Assam. He says the circumcision occurred about six months before he approached the police. He also alleges that his in-laws demanded that he change his name and embrace Islam. Police have arrested his mother-in-law, Nur Khatun.

Chandak filed a First Information Report (FIR) at Bhangagarh Police Station against his 24-year-old wife, Nurshika Begum, and her mother, Nur Khatun, on November 5, 2026. Police arrested Khatun and asked Begum, who lives in Bengaluru but hails from Mankachar, Assam, to join the investigation. The couple has a daughter.

Chandak met Nurshika in Delhi in 2019. They began a relationship, and later married in a court ceremony in Assam. They initially got along despite their religious differences. Chandak recalls spending about 10 days at her family home, where her relatives welcomed him and did not ask him to convert.

He says tensions began after his Muslim wife posted a photograph of herself wearing sindoor, a traditional mark that many married Hindu women wear, on social media. Chandak alleges that the photograph drew her relatives’ and villagers’ attention to their interfaith marriage. Speaking to NDTV, he said his in-laws began pressuring him to convert about three years ago. He also told another news agency that her family introduced him to villagers as a relative — his wife’s maternal aunt’s son — because they feared opposition to a Hindu-Muslim marriage. He alleges that her relatives demanded his conversion after villagers learned the truth.

Chandak adds that the circumcision occurred about six months before he filed his complaint. It all started shortly after the couple had a marital argument, and Begum returned to her village. Soon afterward, his mother-in-law, Khatun, invited him to Guwahati to discuss the dispute. He traveled to Jalukbari, where two unidentified men approached him in a vehicle. They claimed to be his wife’s relatives, but allegedly drove him toward the Guwahati TV Tower.

Chandak alleges that the men gave him an intoxicating substance in the vehicle, leaving him unable to resist when they circumcised him. He also accuses the men of forcing him to consume beef despite his refusal, and pressuring him to accept Islam.

The Sentinel Assam and OpIndia reported that Chandak sought treatment in Hatigaon and Bengaluru after he developed an infection. He also underwent a medical examination at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital.

Chandak further alleges that his in-laws intensified their conversion demands during the two months before he approached the police. They demanded that he change his legal name and formally declare his conversion. He filed the FIR on October 26, 2026, after they threatened to end his relationship with Begum unless he complied. He says he considered their demands after repeated pressure but did not want to change his legal identity or complete a formal conversion. Chandak identified Khatun as the primary accused, and said his six-year-old daughter currently lives with her.

Police must examine Chandak’s medical records, identify the two men, and determine each accused person’s role. Chandak is not the first Hindu man to accuse his Muslim wife or in-laws of religious coercion involving him or his children. In January 2022, a Hindu man in Jashpur, Chhattisgarh, accused his wife and mother-in-law of converting their eight-year-old son to Islam, and arranging his circumcision without his consent. In September 2022, Jagbir Kori of Ayodhya accused his wife, Hasina Bano, of arranging their son’s circumcision and pressuring him to convert. In April 2024, Vipin Verma of Meerut accused his wife, Shehzadi, of pressuring him and their three children to embrace Islam and arranging his stepson’s circumcision.

In June 2026, Vivek Singh of Uttarakhand accused his wife, Yasmeen, her parents, Sakir Ali and Sajo Bano, and relatives Parvez and Firoz of pressuring him to convert and arranging their son’s circumcision without his knowledge. In Indore, Madhya Pradesh, Mahesh Nahata accused his wife, Prarthana Shivhare, her partner, Iliyas Ahmed Qureshi, and Mohammad Zafar Ali of converting his eight-year-old son to Islam, circumcising him, and enrolling him in a madrasa. In February 2025, an Indore court convicted all three defendants and sentenced them to 10 years in prison.

The Indian government must quit using secularism as a reason to ignore Muslim religious coercion. Secularism should protect freedom of conscience, religious identity, and bodily autonomy. It is high time the government of India introduced strong anti-conversion safeguards and ensured impartial investigations. India must protect men, women, and children from forceful conversion to Islam, and defend every citizen’s right to choose a faith freely.