A 17-year-old girl, Sneha Mishra (not her real name), was sexually exploited, blackmailed, and tortured by a man who she met on social media. The man, who introduced himself as Raju Mishra, claimed to work at a steel supply firm in Surat, Gujarat, and took Sneha to his home in Fatehpur after a few meetings. There, he gave her drugs and sexually assaulted her.
After regaining consciousness, he revealed his real identity as Rasheed Khan and confessed his ‘love’ for Sneha. He threatened to make her nude pictures and videos public if she didn’t give in to his wishes. Succumbing to fear, Sneha gave in to his demands, and he continued to blackmail and sexually exploit her.
Khan asked her to pay Rs 4 lakh, promising to return it within three months in September 2022. The girl, completely caught in Khan’s net, somehow arranged the amount. When the girl’s father came to know about this, he agreed to sell his car and collect the money if he could not pay back the money. But later neither the money nor the car was handed over by Rashid Khan.
As her relationship with her parents soured, the girl left home and moved in with Rashid Khan at his family home in Fatehpur. As Sneha insists on a love marriage, Rasheed takes her to Surat. While there, Sneha, who became pregnant twice, was forced to have an abortion both times.
Rasheed told Sneha, who forced him to marry again in December 2023, that the marriage can only be completed if she converts to Islam.
Then a Maulavi was brought and converted Sneha to Islam by reciting the Kalima. She was given a new name as Mahi Khan. After the Nikah, Sneha was brought to Rasheed’s family home in Fatehpur where her relatives forcibly fed her beef. The reason given was that she would become a true Muslim only if she ate beef. She was given a copy of the Quran. She was instructed to perform Namaz, and cover her head with hijab.
In Surat, Khan started leaving home for two or three days every time he demanded his parents’ money back. “If I had married a Muslim woman, her family would have given me a dowry. What did you bring?” This was his constant refrain. This was used as a reason to torture Sneha mentally and physically. Forced intercourse even during menstruation is common. In opposition, he had to say that “a Muslim woman can never deny her husband’s demands”.
In February this year, he left Sneha after a fight. “Tuje Islam mem lakar ek haj kasawab mil gaya hai, ab tu kisi kaam ki nahi. Mem tuje nahi rakhunga” (By bringing you to Islam I have achieved results of performing Hajj. I have no use for you anymore. I will not keep you anymore” is the last line). Rashid told her.
After being abandoned in Surat, Sneha reached the family home in Fatehpur in search of Rasheed, but the family did not allow her to enter the house. Instead, they threatened him with dire consequences. They repeated, “For converting a Kafir Hindu to Islam, we have received the halam of Hajj.” Sneha had no choice but to approach the police as she had already severed all ties with her own family.
When the police were called, Rasheed’s father agreed to take his daughter-in-law home. But when he reached home, the scenario changed. He said, “The police officer is asking for money. You are asking for money. My son is not even at home. How can I accommodate you here when you are against us?” Later that night he threw her out of the house.
Sneha told journalist Subhi Vishwakarma that the police was not ready to accept the complaint. On March 13, when they reached the Khakreru police station in Fatehpur district, they met some Hindu social workers and they took the incident to the media. The two Aadhaar cards taken by the accused in the names of Rashid Khan and Raju Mishra were also displayed in front of the Sneha media workers.
Sneha’s current demand is to take action against Rasheed Khan, who exploited her sexually and financially and later tortured her physically and mentally.
Sneha’s case is not an isolated incident. In recent years, there have been several reports of young girls being lured into relationships by men who hide their true identities and then exploit and abuse them. The rise of social media has made it easier for such predators to target vulnerable teenagers and trap them into a life of exploitation and abuse.
Moreover, the issue of forced conversions has been a matter of concern for many years in India. While the Constitution guarantees the freedom to practice and propagate religion, forced conversions violate the principles of religious freedom and are illegal under Indian law. Yet, there have been many instances where young girls, particularly from minority communities, have been coerced into converting to another religion.
Courtesy: Organiser
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