Karnataka woman raped, blackmailed to convert by Muslim couple

An FIR has been filed in Karnataka against seven individuals, including a couple who are accused of using a married woman’s intimate images as blackmail to force the 28-year-old to convert to Islam. Police stated the woman claimed in her statement that she was made to wear a burkha instead of “kumkum” on her forehead and that she was sexually assaulted by the guy in front of his wife.

The accused, known as Rafik, and his spouse forced the woman into having intercourse with them. Subsequently, he took private pictures of her and used these as leverage to demand that she convert to Islam from Hinduism. According to the police, Rafik and his spouse forced the woman to relocate into their Belagavi home in 2023 and made her do everything they asked of her. When the three of them shared a home last year, the woman claimed that Rafik had sexually assaulted her in front of his wife.

The woman also claimed that she was subjected to insults based on her caste and that the accused advised her to switch to a different faith since she belongs to a backward caste. According to the woman’s complaint, Rafik demanded that she divorce her husband and threatened to release her intimate images if she refused. She said that if she didn’t convert, the couple would kill her.

Based on the woman’s charges, an FIR was registered in Saundatti, accusing seven individuals. They are accused of crimes including rape, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, and criminal intimidation under the Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Act, relevant sections of the IT law, the SC/ST Act, and the Indian Penal Code.

in September 2022, the Karnataka legislative council passed the Karnataka Protection of the Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2022 also known as the anti-conversion bill. This made forcible conversions a non-bailable and punishable offense but The Karnataka cabinet led by the Congress in June 2023 decided to repeal the anti-conversion law brought by the previous BJP government. Fayaz who recently murdered Neha Hiremath due to rejection, was also arrested by the police from Saundatti.

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