In yet another incident that sheds light on the deepening roots of the Islamic State in the country, a 25-year-old woman on Friday approached the Kerala High Court against her husband who is a Muslim , alleging that he forced her to convert to Islam and forged documents to marry her.
In her petition to the high court, the woman alleged that 26-year-old Muhammad Riyaz – a native of New Mahe – took her to Saudi Arabia and was planning to take her to Syria and sell her to ISIS terrorists as a sex slave.
The woman has filed the petition calling for her marriage to be nullified, and that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) look into the case. The petition will be heard on November 13.
In her plea, the woman stated that she met Riyaz in Bengaluru and the two got into a relationship. Riyaz later recorded a private video. She said that he blackmailed her with the video and asked her to convert and marry him.
She revealed that Riyaz is a member of Popular Front of India (PFI), who had taken her to Saudi Arabia, and was trying to take her to Syria. She said that she somehow managed to contact her parents and asked them to rescue her.
The woman is originally a native of Kerala, but was born and brought up in Gujarat.
The incident comes close to the heels of the Hadiya case and several other cases of alleged forced conversions in Kerala. The NIA has claimed that there have been over 90 cases of forced conversions in Kerala.
24-year-old Hadiya has been under house arrest after her marriage to Sheffin Jahan was annulled last year by the High Court. Hadiya has been asked to be present before the court on November 27 for hearing in a petition filed by her husband. She had told the High Court that she had converted on her own will.
