A 21-year-old Dalit Hindu woman in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh had approached the police on February 27 (Saturday) with a complaint against a youth named Mohammad Arif, who lives in Lalganj, Ghosiana town of Rae Bareli, accusing him of cheating and rape.
In the complaint lodged with the Nawabganj police in Uttar Pradesh, the woman, who is a fashion designer by profession, alleged that Arif had befriended her posing as ‘Rajveer Kesariya’ on Facebook. He lured her into a relationship on the pretext of marriage and forced her to get sexually involved with him. When the woman became pregnant, the accused Arif broke all his ties with her.
Based on the complaint, the Nawabganj police registered a case against the accused under sections 417, 504, 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the Information and Technology Act and initiated an investigation. Arif has been now arrested.
As per reports, the police have said that the anti-conversion law has not been invoked in this case as the victim and accused knew each other and allegations of an attempt to conversion have not been made.
How Arif hid his identity and lured the Kanpur girl on Facebook
The fashion designer wrote in her complaint that she met Arif on Facebook. During the conversation, he told her that his name was Rajveer and he was a resident of Lucknow. He also said that he is pursuing a management course in Mumbai. Over the passage of time, their friendship developed and Arif aka Rajveer started visiting the 21-year-old. The victim said that he promised to help her get a job. The accused began to sexually exploit her on the pretext of marriage.
The woman alleged that Arif stopped talking to her when she told him that she was pregnant with his child in January. The victim somehow traced his family members and approached them. It was then revealed upon her that the accused’s real name was Mohammad Arif and that he had been concealing his identity from her for all this while. She then finally confronted him, only to be threatened with dire consequences.