A horrifying case of Grooming Jihad has come to light from the Khandva district in Madhya Pradesh, where a man named Arbaaz, who masqueraded as Vishal, and his friend Sadiq, reportedly gang-raped a 10th stand standard girl from neighbouring village Harsud after luring her into a relationship. The girl was also forced into converting her religion and embracing Islam.
The Harsud police station in Khandwa district has filed a case against the accused, charging them with sections including rape and sexual abuse. While Sadiq, a government employee, is already under arrest, the police are still searching for Vishal alias Arbaaz who is on the run.
As per reports, Arbaaz created an account under the false identity of Vishal and befriended a girl on Instagram. Gradually, the friendship turned into a love relationship, following which Arbaaz, posing as Vishal, invited the 10th standard girl from Harsud over to Khandwa under the pretext of marriage.
The girl, who was head over heels in love with Arbaaz, promptly accepted his invitation and left her home for Khandwa. She was also carrying a red saree and jewellery, hoping to wear them in her marriage with Vishal alias Arbaaz. However, upon reaching Khandwa, she was taken as a hostage by Arbaaz and taken to the official residence of his friend Sadiq, who is an employee in the Municipal Corporation.
In her statement to police, the girl said, “I left the house on Monday night with a wedding dress and jewellery. After I reached Khandwa and met Vishal there, I came to know that his real name was Arbaaz Khan and he was a resident of Khanshawali village. He took me to a government building behind the collector’s bungalow with the help of Sadiq.”
Here, they took turns to rape her, according to reports. The duo also clicked objectionable pictures and videos of the girl and threatened her with making them viral. After being gang-raped, they forced the girl to renounce her faith and accept Islam. Arbaaz reportedly assured her that he would marry her if she became a Muslim. When she resisted conversion attempts and threatened them with police action, Sadiq and Arbaaz locked her up and fled from the place.
The girl somehow managed to escape her captivity, after which she approached the police and narrated her ordeal to them. Based on her complaint, the police rounded up Sadiq but they could not get hold of Arbaaz who was absconding. They have now launched a manhunt to determine his whereabouts and arrest him.
The Hindu Jagran Manch also took cognisance of the case where a girl was entrapped by a Muslim man pretending to be a Hindu. District president Anish Arjhare said the matter is a love jihad case and urged authorities to take stringent steps to bring the culprits to book.
