A shocking case of rape under the fake pretence of marriage and forced conversion of a 27-year-old Hindu woman to Islam has come to light in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow. The accused Muslim man has been identified as Afifullah, a resident of Rampur who according to the victim prevented her from doing pooja (Hindu form of worship). He also took her to a cleric and assaulted her when she refused to convert to Islam.
The woman lodged a complaint in relation to the matter in Lucknow on 9th January 2024. However, the case is connected to Noida and hence will be transferred to the authorities there. The young woman is from Lucknow and was employed by a private company in Noida. Meanwhile, she met the accused who befriended her and promised her marriage.
She charged that he took her to a hotel after gaining her confidence and sexually violated her there. He brought up marriage when she protested to silence her. Afterwards, he took her to multiple hotels and established physical relationships with her. Later, when the girl asked him to wed her, he refused it.
She revealed that the culprit also introduced her to his sisters Ursa and Hamna. He had made a vow to tie the knot with her before them but then he started to pressurise her to become a Muslim for marriage. He led her to a cleric with the same objective who also asked her to embrace Islam. The victim revealed that the offender also used to take her to Islamic events and bring her books about his religion.
He told her that it was against his religion to marry a non-Muslim girl and therefore she had to accept Islam, per the victim. He also opposed when she prayed to Hindu Gods. He and his sisters reportedly thrashed her when she objected to converting to Islam.
Inspector Akhilesh Kumar of the Lucknow police station stated that a case had been filed against the perpetrator in response to the girl’s allegations. Noida police will look into it because the incident transpired there. This case will soon be moved to Noida.
