Days after the horrifying case of Love Jihad from Umbre village of Ahmednagar district came to the fore, two more cases of harassment and intimidation by minority community members emerged from the Rahuri region of the district escalating the tensions in the city.
The Ahmednagar Police, on August 4, arrested the accused identified as Shahnawaz Asif Sheikh for abusing, threatening, and molesting a minor Hindu girl in the Wambori region of Rahuri Taluka of Ahmednagar district. The girl was threatened by the accused and her photograph was inappropriately used by him to blackmail her to be in a physical relation with him.
The police have arrested the accused under sections 354, 354D, 506 of the Indian Penal Code, section 3(1)(r), 3(1)(w)(i) of the SC/ST Act, and sections 8 and 12 of the POCSO Act.
As per the FIR copy obtained by OpIndia, the minor victim girl is a resident of the Wambori region of Rahuri and was studying at a local school. She was being harassed by the accused who owns a vegetable/fruit stall in the main market area of Wambori.
Victim girl talked to OpIndia, confirmed Shahnawaz forcefully kissed and blackmailed her
The victim girl narrated the incident to OpIndia in which she said, “I used to go to the market to buy vegetables very often. Shahnawaz had introduced himself to me as Shahrukh Sheikh who is his elder brother. Shahnawaz used to stare at me and intended to establish a friendship with me. I refused but he continued to insist for months.”
“One day he forcefully held my hand and pushed me on the nearby cart. He then forcefully kissed me on my cheek and clicked a selfie while he did that. I pushed him away and ran away from the market as I felt ashamed, guilty, and scared”, the victim added.
The victim further said, “Later, he used that image to blackmail me to be in a relationship with him. I refused several times but he didn’t stop. He wanted me to respond the way he wanted and run away with him. He threatened me frequently to meet him. He also gifted me a wristwatch and threatened me to accept it and wear it daily. He abused my caste saying that we were lower community people and deserved nothing. This is after I accidentally damaged the watch that he gave me.”
“That day he threatened to make that derogatory photo viral in the village and called me behind a factory in Wambori. He proposed to me. He asked me whether I had my Adhaar card. Later he proposed to marry and run away with him. I refused and then told my parents about it after reaching home. I was too scared,” the girl added.
She also added that the accused identified as Shahnawaz would visit her locality and walk outside her house to intimidate her. The victim girl also said that the boy would threaten and ask her to cover her face while stepping out of the house. “The boy has now been arrested but I am too scared to even go out of the house,” the minor said.
Rahim Munna Sheikh and wife assaulted 19-year-old Hindu woman, tore her clothes, beat her brother
In another case registered on the same day, an FIR against Rahim Munna Sheikh and Arbina Rahim Sheikh was filed for assaulting a 19-year-old Hindu girl and her brother in the Momin Akhada region of Rahuri. The victim girl was molested and also her clothes were torn after being threatened by the accused.
The police have arrested the accused and have booked them under sections 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (punishment for insulting someone intentionally to provoke them), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 427 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
As per the FIR copy, the incident is said to have happened on August 3 at around 8 pm. “The duo came into the Momin Akhada region and began assaulting my brother for no reason. When I and my sister-in-law tried to save him, Rahim Sheikh and his wife abused me and also assaulted me. They tore my T-shirt and threatened us,” the girl in the FIR says.
Brother of the victim girl confirms girl was assaulted for no reason
Team OpIndia contacted the victim to confirm the incident after which it was learned that the victim and her brother were beaten by the accused after a short scuffle took place between them. “The accused Rahim had forced my brother to get him something purchased from a local store. However, he refused saying that he had no money. Later Rahim and his wife came home and assaulted my brother, his wife, and our sister. The girl was assaulted for no reason,” one of the brothers of the victim girl said.
Meanwhile, he also added that the Police have filed a cross-complaint against his brother and put him in jail. Further investigations into the case are underway. Police were reached for comment on the case but were not available at the time of writing this report. The report will be updated once we hear from the authorities.
Umbri Love Jihad case
In a recent case of Love Jihad that was reported from Umbre village of Rahuri taluka, three Hindu minor girls had complained that one Avej Sheikh trapped them separately in love affairs and forced them to run away with him. He asked them for money and also threatened them to be in a relationship. He touched the girls inappropriately and obtained their photographs which he used to blackmail the girls to be in a physical relationship. In this, Avej’s friends Kaif, Sohail, his sister Alisha, uncles Salim Pathan, Altaf Sheikh, and Shakir Sayyed helped him with money and other resources.
Meanwhile, the tuition teacher of the girls, Heena Pathan groomed the girls to behave like Muslims and asked them to stop wearing bangles and kumkum on their foreheads. She also fed one of the girls with milk that contained some toxic substance. Uncle Salim Pathan was ready to give Avej Rs 7 lacs and home if he would trap any of the girls and convert her to Islam.
The girls confirmed to OpIndia that around 7-8 girls were targeted by Avej and were threatened to be in relation with him at separate time intervals during the course of the last two years. All the accused persons in the case have now been arrested. However, police have filed a cross-complaint against members of a local Hindu organisation who approached to help the victim girls. Investigations in all three cases are underway.
