On Sunday, the Gujarat Police booked five persons from Rajpur, Deesa over allegations of brainwashing a woman and her children to convert to Islam and forcing the woman’s husband to attempt to commit suicide. The five accused have been identified as Aijaz Shaikh, his father Mustafa Shaikh, uncles Alam Shaikh and Sattar Shaikh, and cousin Sohil Shaikh.
According to the reports, all the five accused are residents of Rajpur in Deesa and have been booked under IPC section 306 (abetment to suicide), 506 (1) (criminal intimidation), 384 (extortion), 511 (punishment for attempting to commit offenses punishable with life imprisonment) and 114 for an offense committed when abettor present.
The accused were booked based on the complaint that was filed by the brother of the victim named Rajesh Solanki. Rajesh in his complaint mentioned that his elder brother had attempted to commit suicide by consuming poison at Pataleshwar Mahadev Temple in Palanpur. The incident is said to have happened on August 27.
He said that his brother was living alone since the group of five accused had brainwashed his sister-in-law named Chandrika Solanki and children Neha and Akash and converted them to Islam. He also mentioned that the victim was since then undergoing treatment for depression at Medipolis Hospital in Palanpur.
“My niece Neha (daughter of Haresh) was studying in college two years ago when she got in touch with Aijaz Shaikh who lived in Rajpur of Deesa. He started frequenting our house and influenced Neha to the extent that she wanted to live with him. When Haresh asked Aijaz to stop frequenting his house, there was a fight between the two when Aijaz claimed that Neha was in his control. He also informed Haresh that he had pictures and videos of Neha”, a complaint by Rajesh read.
Rajesh added that the accused then began to control his sister-in-law (Harish’s wife) and Akash too. “Under the influence of Aijaz, Chandrika, Neha, and Akash started offering namaz at home and told us that they have nothing to do with Hinduism. When my brother Haresh went to Aijaz’s house in Deesa, he was told by his father Mustafa and uncles that his wife and kids have accepted Islam of their own will”, Rajesh was quoted.
Reports mention that Harish’s wife along with her children had filed a Habeas Corpus petition in the Gujarat High Court and had claimed that they were being confined illegally by Haresh. The petition was filed on June 16 this year.
“Four months ago, Aijaz took Chandrika, Neha, and Akash away. His family then prepared some legal documents and filed a Habeas Corpus petition in the Gujarat High Court claiming that they no longer wished to stay with Haresh. After the court’s order, the trio left our house due to which Haresh was left alone and fell into depression. On Sunday, he called me on my cellphone and informed me that he consumed poison at a temple in Palanpur. I reached Pataleshwar Mahadev temple where I found him unconscious and took him to hospital”, Rajesh added in his complaint.
Reportedly, the petition filed by Chandrika and her children was disposed of by the Court in July. The Court led by judge Vipul Pancholi and Rajendra Sareen stated that ‘corpora being major, they want to live in their way’.
At present, the five accused identified as Aijaz Shaikh, Mustafa Shaikh, Alam Shaikh, Sattar Shaikh, and Sohil Shaikh have been booked under the relevant sections of the IPC for instigating a man to commit suicide in Palanpur. The Police are further investigating the case.
