On Tuesday (5th December), the Prayagraj police registered a case against 5 men including three brothers regarding the forcible conversion of a Hindu family. The victim woman claimed that Maulvi Mushtaq Ali had lured her and her father to visit a Mazar where he forced both of them to embrace Islam. The victim woman also accused Maulvi Mushtaq Ali of raping one of her daughters. She also alleged that after the death of Maulvi Mushtaq Ali, his sons continued to torture her and pressurised her to bring her other daughter to the tomb.
The woman finally lodged a case in the matter, after which the police arrested Akram, Junaid, and Faizan, all sons of Mushtaq Ali. Additionally, two more persons have been booked in the case. The case has been registered in the Colonelganj police station of Prayagraj under sections 147 (rioting), 323 (causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult), 506 (criminal intimidation), 342 (wrongful confinement), 354(A) (sexual harassment) of the IPC and sections 3 and 5(A) of the Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Illegal Religious Conversion Act 2021.
On Thursday (7 December 2023), OpIndia reached the mazar in Chhota Baghda, Prayagraj, where the Hindu father and his daughter (victim woman complainant) were allegedly converted to Islam. The victim has accused that she was raped here and she was also forced to spit there and licking it. The Maulavi had further allegedly sexually assaulted her daughter at the place, and after some time that girl died.
This mazar is situated in the premises behind the Prayagraj railway station, accessible through narrow lanes. Two tombs were seen beneath a neem tree within the compound of a house, with the tree adorned in red clothes and garlands. A picture of Maulvi Mushtaq near the mazar was also seen there. The mazar premises and the room where the alleged rape occurred were both found to be locked. The video of the Mazar can be seen in the tweet below.
टीम @OpIndia_in पहुँची प्रयागराज की उस मजार पर जहाँ के मौलवी मुश्ताक (अब मरहूम) और उसके पूरे परिवार ने मिल कर करवाया एक हिन्दू परिवार का धर्मान्तरण।
— राहुल पत्रकार (@rahulppress) December 7, 2023
जिन्नों से डरा कर एक लड़की का किया बलात्कार।
माँ से भी रेप की कोशिश।
अब मांग रहे थे दूसरी बेटी भी
अब तक 1 (अकरम) गिरफ्तार pic.twitter.com/LhSBCKJ7yx
Usually, there is a lot of crowd at the tomb on Thursdays. But since the case was registered, there has been silence here. The area where the Mazar is located has a majority population of Hindus. Students preparing for civil services examinations live in rented rooms in the surroundings. In the conversation with these students, it was found that outsiders keep visiting the Mazar.
On Thursday, a special program takes place, drawing a larger crowd. Nevertheless, when we visited the location after the registration of the case and the subsequent arrests, there was a stunning silence in this area.
A person living near the Mazar said on condition of anonymity, “When Maulvi Mushtaq was alive, his sons Akram, Junaid, and Faizan independently managed distinct businesses. Akram was involved in catering, while Junaid specialised in tailoring women’s clothing. While doing the tailoring business, Junaid ensnared women. He would suggest women customers visit the Mazar, citing his father and the shrine as a solution to their problems.”
As per the victim woman’s account, Maulvi Mushtaq previously summoned girls to his residence. However, when conflicts arose in his household as a result, he constructed a room within the Mazar premises. The victim further alleged that despite the usual Thursday gatherings at the Mazar, Maulvi Mushtaq would call women at any time on any given day.
According to the victim, her father owned a sweets shop in Prayagraj. Maulvi Mushtaq used to come to his shop. He called the father and daughter to the Mazar on the pretext of getting rid of troubles. Upon reaching the Mazar, Maulvi Mushtaq instilled a fear of death and compelled the father and daughter to embrace Islam. They were coerced into refraining from worshipping Hindu deities, constructing a structure resembling a Mazar within their house, and exclusively worshipping the Mazar itself.
The victim woman’s father has died. She has accused that Maulavi Mushtaq Ali had raped her younger daughter. That daughter has also died. Maulavi Mushtaq Ali is also dead.
The victim woman stated that following Maulvi Mushtaq’s demise, his sons persisted in tormenting her. They issued her death threats insisting she visit the Mazar. Upon her resistance, they violently seized her by the hair, subjected her to physical assault, and degradingly compelled her to spit and lick it back. Additionally, they callously intruded upon her private parts.
For detailed information about the victim’s allegations and this case click here
