A POSCO court in Ajmer, on Wednesday (4th June) rejected the bail plea of former councilor of Bijainagar Hakim Qureshi who is an accused in the Bijainagar rape and conversion case. Qureshi is accused of leading an Islamist gang involved in sexual exploitation and forced conversion of minor Hindu girls in Bijainagar. The court denied bail to Qureshi citing the serious nature of charges against him. The court said that forcing minor girls to convert and recite Kalma was a serious charge.
Public Prosecutor Prashant Yadav said that three FIRs were filed in connection with a rape and conversion case in which several minor girls were targeted in an organised and collective manner. Qureshi is named as an accused in one of the FIRs. Yadav said that Qureshi is accused of pressuring a victim to convert to Islam and recite Kalma, observe roza, and wear a burqa. Qureshi also forced the victim to live with the main accused, Suhail Hussain. He told the victim that after becoming an adult, she will be married to Suhail Hussain. Yadav added that the accused in the case used to gift mobile phones to minor girls to establish contact with them. Once the girls started talking to them, then the accused used to force them to introduce their friends to them. Qureshi was arrested on February 23, 2025.
The Bijainagar rape and conversion case
The shocking case of sexual exploitation and blackmail of school-going girls in the Bijainagar police station area came to light on 15th February after a victim’s family approached the police. A gang of Muslim men was reportedly acting in an organised manner to target minor Hindu girls for sexual exploitation and extortion. The gang members used to follow their victims in a planned manner. Once their victims responded, they lured them and entered into relationships with them. They sexually exploited their victims and captured their obscene photos and videos to blackmail them and extort money from them. Moreover, the culprits used their victims’ social media accounts to contact more girls. The victims’ families said that the girls were forcibly subjected to religious practices and pressured to convert to Islam.
Afterwards, the families of four more girls also sought help from the authorities. The victims stated that the teenage girls from a private school were sexually abused. They were blackmailed and their obscene pictures and videos were recorded. They were also forced to read Kalma and observe roza. The police started investigation by registering a case under several sections including the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. So far, the police have arrested 13 persons and 4 minors in connection with the case. An 895-page chargesheet was filed by police in the case on 17th April.
