A woman in Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad has accused a Muslim couple, a cleric and two unidentified persons of forcibly converting her religion, raping her and illegally confining her. Police have registered a case under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Police said two named accused have been arrested, while efforts are underway to trace the remaining accused.
The case was registered at Majhola police station in Moradabad.
Woman Alleges She Was Lured to House and Confined
According to the First Information Report (FIR), the complainant said her family had known the accused family for nearly three years and both families regularly visited each other and celebrated festivals together.
She alleged that on February 6, Mehraj Begum called her to her house. When she arrived, Mehraj’s husband Sultan Salauddin, a cleric and two other persons were already present.
The woman alleged that she was confined inside the house, where Sultan Salauddin threatened her with his licensed pistol and forced her to undergo religious conversion in the presence of the others. She claimed she was made to recite religious verses and was pressured to marry him.
The complainant further alleged that when she opposed the proposal, the cleric told those present that forced marriage was against Islam and Sharia and was also illegal. Despite this, she claimed Sultan Salauddin insisted on keeping her as his wife.
She also alleged that the accused used caste-based abusive language, threatened to kill her and kept her confined for several days.
Serious Charges Registered
In her complaint, the woman also accused Sultan Salauddin of raping her during the period of confinement. She alleged that she managed to escape after several days and later approached the police.
The FIR further states that the accused allegedly continued threatening her with dire consequences after she escaped. The complainant also claimed that an attempt-to-murder case had previously been registered against Sultan Salauddin in Badaun district.
Based on the complaint, police registered a case under relevant provisions relating to rape, wrongful confinement, criminal intimidation, forced religious conversion and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Police Confirm Arrests
Moradabad Superintendent of Police Kumar Ranvijay Singh said the complaint was received from a woman residing in Prakash Nagar under the Majhola police station area.
“The complainant stated that she was acquainted with Sultan Salauddin and his family and that both families used to visit each other’s homes. She alleged that Mehraj called her to the house, where the accused misbehaved with her, raped her, pressured her to convert her religion and kept her confined,” the SP said.
He added, “A case was immediately registered on the basis of the complaint. The two named accused have been arrested and sent to jail, while police teams are searching for the remaining accused.”
Police said the investigation is ongoing and further action will be taken based on the evidence collected during the probe.
