In a shocking incident in Karnataka, a case has been registered against seven people including a husband and wife, for allegedly forcing a 28-year-old married Hindu woman to convert to Islam by threatening to reveal her intimate pictures.
The victim said that the accused identified as Rafik raped her in front of his wife and forced her to wear a burqa, he also stopped her from wearing ‘kumkum’ on her forehead.
Rafik and his wife misled the woman and he indulged in sexual relations with her. Accused Rafik then took intimate pictures of her and used them to blackmail her into converting from Hinduism to Islam.
According to the police. Rafik and his wife forced the victim to move into their Belagavi home in 2023 and demanded that she do whatever they said. The woman said that Rafik raped her last year in front of his wife, while the three were living together.
In April of this year, the accused duo allegedly told the Hindu woman not to wear ‘kumkum’. They compelled her to wear a burkha and perform namaz five times a day, according to Belagavi SP Bhimashankar Guleda.
The complainant said that caste-based slurs were used against her and that the accused told her she would have to convert to Islam since she belonged to a backward caste.
According to the woman’s complaint, Rafik asked her to divorce her spouse and threatened to release personal images of her if she did not comply. She also stated that Rafik and his wife threatened to kill her if she refused to convert to Islam.
An FIR was filed in Saundatti against seven persons based on the woman’s complaint. The accused persons have been booked under the Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Act, relevant sections of the IT law, the SC/ST Act, and the Indian Penal Code, including those for rape, kidnapping, wrongful confinement, and criminal intimidation.
