Karnataka Police has apprehended a 32-year-old man from Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar for allegedly attempting to convert a woman from another religion and engaging in “unnatural sexual acts” on the pretext of marriage, police said on Friday (September 22).
The accused was identified as Mogil Ashraf Baig who worked with an IT firm in Bengaluru. He and the victim knew each other for years and they lived in a live-in relationship. The woman also worked with a tech firm in the city, the police said.
The couple was planning to arrange a court marriage, however, Baig allegedly forced the woman to get converted to Islam, according to the police.
According to the complaint filed by the woman, Baig got her to agree to have sexual intercourse with him on using the pretext of marriage. In the FIR, the woman has alleged that Baig forced her to engage in "unnatural sexual acts".
“She also accused his brother of threatening her over the phone,” a senior police official said.
Matter comes to light
The matter came to the fore on September 6 when the victim posted on social media that she was raped and forced into religious conversion.
“@PoliceBangalore @DGPKarnataka @PMOIndia @CPBlr Sir, I am a victim of lovejihad, rape, unnatural sex, and forceful religious conversion. Kindly provide me with police assistance in Bangalore immediately, as my life is in danger (sic),” she posted on X.
An FIR was filed in the Bellandur police station on September 7 after her complaint. The case was then transferred to the Hebbagodi police station since the incident occurred under its jurisdiction.
On September 14, officials at Hebbagodi police station registered an FIR under sections 376 (rape), 377 (unnatural offences), 506 (criminal intimidation), 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and 417 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code and section 5 of Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Act, 2022, the officer said.
The police dispatched a special team as part of the investigation to Jammu and Kashmir to arrest the accused.
“Our team apprehended the suspect from Srinagar on Wednesday. He was brought to Bengaluru on Thursday and produced before the court here. We have got two days of police custody. The case is still under investigation. All the allegations are being looked into. We need to interrogate him in detail,” said Mallikarjun Baldandi, Superintendent of Police (Bengaluru Rural).
(With PTI inputs)
