On 30 September a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court convicted all three principal accused in the Tara Sahadeo conversion case, including her ex-husband Rakib-ul Hasan and her mother-in-law Kaushar Rani and Mustaque Ahmad. The verdict was pronounced in relation to the case filed for engaging in multiple atrocities against the national-level shooter and attempting to convert her to Islam against her will.
The court of special CBI judge Prabhat Kumar Sharma scheduled the sentencing of the perpetrators for 5 October and the trio was sent to the Birsa Munda Central Jail. 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.
The victim accused that she had wed Ranjit Kohli alias Rakib-ul Hasan on 7 July 2014, in accordance with Hindu customs, however, on the second day of their union he and Mustaque Ahmad who served as registrar of vigilance at the time began pressuring her to become a Muslim and do Nikaah (Islamic marriage).
The inquiry was taken over by the CBI in 2015 after a Jharkhand High Court order and a case was filed in Delhi. A Ranchi family court granted her a divorce on 26 June 2018 on the grounds of cruelty. She submitted a complaint to the court asserting that her spouse had misrepresented his faith and duped her into getting married. She had also charged him for torturing her for refusing to embrace Islam.
On 19 August 2014, the victim filed a complaint against Rakib-ul Hasan and his mother with the Hindpidhi police station 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 after she discovered that her husband was actually a Muslim.
Mustaque Ahmad’s name was mentioned for conspiring with the two to torment and force her to convert under duress. He was the former registrar (vigilance) of the Jharkhand High Court.
“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.
Kaushar Rani was convicted under Indian Penal Code sections 120(B) (whoever is a party to a criminal conspiracy to commit an offence punishable with death or rigorous punishment), 298 (uttering, words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person), 506 (imprisonment for criminal intimidation) and 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt). She had threatened, “Either change your religion, or partners in your bed will keep changing.”
Mustaque Ahmad was found guilty under sections 120(B) and 298 of the Indian Penal Code for facilitating Rakib and Tara’s meeting before their marriage and afterwards bringing a maulvi for the alleged nikah.
“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,” the national shooter expressed while talking to the reporters. The CBI recorded her statement under section 164 (authorises 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.
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 hospitalised after she was saved. Rakib-ul Hasan confessed to physically assaulting her but denied compelling her to change her religion.
