A shocking case of rape of a minor Hindu girl has come to light in Kotwali Nagar of the Ayodhya district, Uttar Pradesh. Here, some clerics reportedly forced a 16-year-old girl to drink Zamzam (Islamic holy water) in an effort to convert her to Islam.
On July 14, her father filed a police complaint in which he named Khalid Ansari and Shivam Yadav as the perpetrators. The First Information Copy is available with OpIndia. Now, both of them have been arrested by the police. However, the identities of the clerics have not yet been made public.
The complainant revealed that Shivam Yadav was first introduced to the girl through one of her friends. After some time, the latter introduced her to Khalid Ansari who is a resident of Hasnu Katra. The accused used presents and other inducements in order to persuade her to embrace Islam. He further charged that the two offenders operated a conversion racket. They kidnapped and sold gullible Hindu females.
थाना कैण्ट #ayodhyapolice ने नाबालिग से दुष्कर्म व जबरन मंतातरण करने वाले 2 नफर वांछित अभियुक्तों को किया गया गिरफ्तार। pic.twitter.com/cOtLlIpbMW
— AYODHYA POLICE (@ayodhya_police) July 16, 2023
The victim is enrolled in a degree college in Ayodhya. According to her father, Khalid Ansari took her to several mosques and shrines where she met with multiple clerics. There she was forced to drink Zamzam by the latter as an alleged ritual to purify her.
The culprits raped the young girl after promising to marry her. She was discovered by her father living at a girl’s house in Janoura, Ayodhya on 13 July and she narrated her ordeal to her family members.
Khalid Ansari is reported to be married with children. He also used to send her outside to other people. He and Shivam Yadav, along with their other accomplices even took away her mobile. The charged individuals did this to obliterate the evidence, per the complaint.
The police have registered a case under section 376-D (gang rape) of the Indian Penal Code as well as the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the anti-conversion law has also been invoked.
Khalid Ansari and Shivam Yadav were apprehended on 16 July. The Superintendent of Police (SP) City, Ayodhya asked to talk with the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) City, Ayodhya in order to learn more about the involvement of clerics, mosques and shrines in the incident. However, the latter didn’t pick up the phone when we tried to contact him. More information will be added after we receive the police version of the situation.
