A man was arrested on Wednesday for alleged forced conversion and exploitation of a married woman in Nuh, police said on Thursday.
The suspect was identified as Mohammad Azam, 38, hailing from Malab village in Nuh. As per police, he had come in contact with the victim, who had two minor children, in 2020.
Krishan Kumar, public relations officer of Nuh police, said the victim’s husband was a drug and liquor addict and was arrested in a murder case in Nuh in 2020, after which he left his wife and the children.
“Since then, the victim was living on her own in Nuh and was facing a financial crisis when she came in touch with Azam who extended financial and emotional support to her and her children,” he said.
Kumar said Azam was married but he kept the fact hidden from the victim and took her to Noida, Panipat and then in Bhiwadi to live with her and the children.
“In June 2020, he took her to a cleric in Bhiwadi where the religious conversion of the woman took place and she was given a new name. She was also married to Azam as per Islamic ritual,” he said.
Kumar said the victim had alleged that soon after her marriage with Azam, his behaviour suddenly changed and he prohibited her from worshiping gods and goddesses and even damaged the shrine at her home.
“He later also forced her to eat prohibited meat of cattle, assaulted her for refusing to obey his directions for following religious practices and forced her to change her name and religion in Aadhaar and other government documents,” he said.
Police said the victim somehow got to know that Azam was married and to verify, she reached Malab village when his wife and other relative assaulted her, forcing her to flee.
They also said Azam’s two brothers-in-law were meanwhile putting pressure and torturing her to marry them following which the woman finally approached police for help and an FIR was finally registered against Azam and other suspects under various sections of Indian Penal Code including 295 (defiling a place of worship or a sacred object with the intent to insult the religion of any class of persons), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation) and section 75 of the Haryana Prevention of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act at Women’s police station, Nuh.
Nuh DSP Prithvi Singh said further detailed investigation in the case was ongoing to ascertain the role and identity of the other accused involved in religious conversion and torture of the woman. “More arrests in the case will take place soon. This is the first arrest made under the anti-conversion law in Nuh,” he added.
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