Now Reading: Gujarat man held for raping pregnant woman, forcing conversion
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Gujarat man held for raping pregnant woman, forcing conversion
Gujarat police have arrested Akhtarshah Fakir, the main accused in a case of repeated rape and forced religious conversion of a 30-year-old pregnant woman in Banaskantha district. Three relatives of the accused, his brothers Arif and Iliyas, and uncle Salimshah Fakir, are still absconding, Deputy Superintendent of Police CL Solanki said on Monday.
According to the woman's complaint filed on August 20, the four men raped and physically abused her last month and forced her to convert. She alleged a local cleric performed a 'nikah' where she was given a spiked drink and her name was changed. The accused also blackmailed her with a secretly recorded private video, threatening to make it viral. On July 21, they beat her and threw her out of the house.
All accused face charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for rape, criminal intimidation, and assault, as well as provisions of the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act. Akhtarshah was earlier arrested in an April case of sexual assault filed by the same woman but was released on June 16.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The case invokes the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003, which prohibits conversion by force, fraud, or inducement and requires prior district magistrate permission for any religious conversion. Conviction under the Act carries up to three years in prison, or up to five years if the victim is a woman or a minor. The woman's earlier complaint in April and subsequent affidavit before the Gujarat high court for a compromise suggest a pattern of pressure. Police now face the task of locating the three absconding relatives and verifying the cleric's role in the alleged forced nikah.
Source: rediff.com
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