Navsari police in Gujarat have apprehended a Muslim man for raping and blackmailing a Hindu girl for nearly five years. The accused who is identified as 37-year-old Asim Nizam Shaikh, a resident of Khergam, was taken into custody on Tuesday in Vasai which is close to Mumbai in Maharashtra, “in a case of love jihad,” according to a statement from the police. Asim had forced the woman, who is 21 years old now, to get married to a friend of his, and was rapping him continuously for the last 5 years.
The Surat IG had formed an SIT to probe the case recently, after which the accused was caught.
Police reported that five years ago when the girl was 16 years old, he raped her for the first time and taped a video that he later used to blackmail the victim.
The perpetrator, who is already married and has kids, coerced the girl into marrying his companion Ronak Patel in order to avoid getting caught. Ronak Patel was recently released from prison after serving time for a murder case and has not yet been found.
On June 23, the Khergam police station filed a First Information Report against the pair under the Information Technology Act, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, and sections 376(2)(n) and 506(2) of the Indian Penal Code, which address rape and criminal intimidation, in response to the female’s complaint.
Navsari district Superintendent of Police Rushikesh Upadhyay informed, “Shaikh and Patel went underground after the FIR was registered. We then learnt that Shaikh had reached Mumbai from Jaipur and was staying at a hotel in Vasai. We nabbed him from Vasai on Tuesday and brought him here. A POCSO court here remanded Shaikh in nine-day police custody.”
The official added that the offender used the videos he had shot to blackmail the girl and her family for five years. Furthermore, he ended her engagement by sending the videos to her fiancé.
Navsari police said in their statement that 18 cases related to prohibition, assault and illegal money-lending are registered against Nizam Shaikh. His father Nizam and three brothers also face criminal cases, said the statement.
