An incident of exploitation and pressure to convert to Islam has come to light in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh where a Muslim man named Sahil alias Sameer pretended to be Rahul, befriended a young Dalit woman under false identity, raped her and pressured her to embrace Islam. The members of Sanskriti Bachao Manch reached Kolar police station with her to register a complaint.
Afterwards, a case was filed under multiple sections including rape, the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act as well as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The accused is from Jahangirabad police station area. Hindu organizations have termed this crime as an act of love jihad and demanded strict action.
Kolar police station in-charge Sanjay Soni informed that a 25-year-old woman living in Kolar as a private employee, was approached by the accused under a false identity and started talking to her. This friendship developed into a love affair. Later, she learned that his real name was Sahil after six months and ended the relationship. However, he threatened to kill her or commit suicide if she left him. He even vowed to leave Islam and enter the fold of Sanatan Dharma for her.
The victim disclosed, “He befriended me through the phone. He earlier told me that his name was Rahul. Then when I came to know that he is a Muslim, I started distancing myself from him. However, he manipulated me with his words. He claimed that he really loved me, would change his religion and marry me. However, when I asked him to fulfil his promise, he started a fight and then absconded. Later he pressured me to convert to Islam.”
The woman had narrated that Sahil had sexually exploited her under a false identity and had been putting conversion to Islam as a precondition to getting married. The victim added that Sahil had even abused her with casteist slurs and threatened her. She approached Chandra Shekhar Tiwari, head of Sanskriti Bachao Manch and narrated her ordeal after which the members of the outfit took her to the police station. As the place of the incident was Jahangirabad, the case diary has been sent to the police station there. The matter is currently under investigation.
