On Thursday, October 5, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Court announced the punishments for convicts held guilty in the Tara Shahdeo religious conversion case. The CBI pronounced punishment of life imprisonment for her ex-husband Rakib-ul Hasan and ten years imprisonment for his mother Kaushar Rani. The then registrar of the High Court Mustaque Ahmed, accused of conspiring, has also been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment.
National shooter Tara Shahdeo was pressured to convert her religion by her ex-husband Rakib-ul Hasan aka Ranjit Kohli after they got married in 2014. In 2017, the CBI filed a chargesheet in the National Shooter Tara Shahdeo case.
Commenting on the issue, she said on October 5 that no woman should be assaulted or pressured to change her faith. “I want to thank the court and the CBI who served me justice. This justice is not just for me, every daughter in the country will gain trust that whoever does this to them will be punished. People who do this would be afraid to not treat someone like this. When my fight started, it was labelled as domestic violence. But my efforts were that this should not happen with any girl. People were hesitant to speak that word. After this judgment, they would come up against it openly,” she said.
#WATCH | Ranchi, Jharkhand: National Shooter Tara Shahdeo says, "I want to thank the court and the CBI who served me justice. This justice is not just for me, every daughter in the country will gain trust that whoever does this to them will be punished. People who do this would… pic.twitter.com/zBpgxOWocZ
— ANI (@ANI) October 5, 2023
Meanwhile the lawyer of convicted Rasqibul Hasan, Mukhtar Ahmed also confirmed the development and said, “There are three accused in this case. Ranjeet Singh Kohli, Mushtaq Ahmed and Kaushar Rani. Kaushar Rani has been punished for 10 years under section 376 with 120 B. Mushtaq Ahmed has been punished for 15 years and Ranjeet Singh Kohli has life imprisonment till death in custody.”
He also added that he would apply to the High Court seeking relief from the punishment. “We will appeal against that order before the High Court and certainly, we will get a relief from there… This is a matter of family dispute, it is not a big issue. It is not a big issue, he is a first offender, and they are a respectable person in the society. We don’t think there is anything serious against these people. We will go to the High Court,” he was quoted as saying.
#WATCH | National Shooter Tara Shahdeo forced conversion case | Ranchi, Jharkhand: Lawyer of convicted Rasqibul Hasan, Mukhtar Ahmed says, "There are three accused in this case. Ranjeet Singh Kohli, Mushtaq Ahmed and Kaushar Rani. Kaushar Rani has been punished for 10 years under… pic.twitter.com/lfZrjgQHL7
— ANI (@ANI) October 5, 2023
The declaration of the punishment by the CBI court comes days after it convicted all three principal accused in the Tara Sahadeo conversion case, namely, her ex-husband Rakib-ul Hasan and her mother-in-law Kaushar Rani and Mustaque Ahmad. The verdict that was pronounced on September 30, was in relation to the case filed by the national-level shooter against her estranged husband her mother-in-law and one other accusing them of engaging in multiple atrocities against her and attempting to convert her to Islam against her will.
Rakib-ul Hasan was found guilty under sections 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy), 376 (2) (n) (physical relation on the promise of marriage), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 298 (wounding religious sentiments), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 496 (fraudulent marriage ceremony) of the Indian Penal Code.
Tara Shahdeo case
The case dates back to the year 2014 when the victim wedded Rakib-ul Hasan on 7 July, in accordance with Hindu customs. Rakib-ul Hasan had posed as Ranjit Kohli to trap the national-level shooter. However, on the second day of their union, Rakib-ul Hasan and Mustaque Ahmad, who served as the registrar of vigilance at the time, began pressuring the national-level shooter to become a Muslim and do Nikaah (Islamic marriage).
After discovering that her husband was a Muslim, the victim filed a complaint against Rakib-ul Hasan and his mother with the Hindpidhi police station on August 19, 2014, under sections 498A (subjecting a woman to cruelty by husband or his family for property) and 34 (committing any criminal act involving two or more persons with common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
She alleged that her husband misrepresented his faith and misled her into marrying him. She also accused him of tormenting her for refusing to accept Islam. Mustaque Ahmad was stated as having conspired with the two to torture and force her to convert under duress. He was the previous Jharkhand High Court registrar (vigilance).
“Rakib convinced Tara to marry him by pretending to be a Hindu. After the solemnization of the marriage, he tried to forcibly convert her for a nikah ceremony. When she refused, Tara was confined to her home and subjected to atrocities for several days. The police eventually rescued her,” revealed her attorney who assisted the national agency in the case.
Khushar Rani meanwhile threatened the national shooter that if she failed to convert her religion to Islam, partners in her bed would keep changing.
Tara Shahdeo was sternly warned not to apply sindoor or else her hands would be broken. Multiple Muslim clerics were called to convert her. She suffered severe beatings when she refused. She was threatened with the murder of not just herself but even her family members if she disclosed the torture she was enduring to anyone. The culprits also made dowry demands from her.
Her oppression continued for a month before she decided to break free. There were cigarette marks on her body and she was hospitalized after she was saved. Rakib-ul Hasan confessed to physically assaulting her but denied compelling her to change her religion.
The CBI took up the investigation in 2015, following a Jharkhand High Court decision, and a case was filed in Delhi.
The CBI recorded her statement under section 164 (authorizes the Magistrate to record the statement of a person or his confession) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The prosecution presented up to 26 witnesses in court, and their cross-examination lasted for more than seven months.
In 2017, the CBI filed a chargesheet in the National Shooter Tara Shahdeo case, in which she was allegedly pressured to convert her religion by her husband.
On the basis of cruelty, a Ranchi family court granted her divorce on June 26, 2018.
In 2019, a CBI court in Ranchi framed charges against Raqibul Hassan alias Ranjit Kohli for allegedly giving false information about his religion while marrying national-level air rifle shooter Tara Shahdeo which subsequently ended in divorce. The court also framed charges against four others for allegedly helping Hassan.
Finally, after nine years of legal battle, the court on September 30, 2023, convicted Shahdeo’s husband Ranjit Kohli alias Raqibul Hasan, his mother Kaushar Rani and Mushtaq Ahmed and today it pronounced the quantum of punishment for the accused.
After the conviction order, Tara was quoted as saying, “I had full faith in the judiciary. I have got justice after a wait of nine years. Those who harmed me have been convicted. I thank all those who cooperated with me.”
