Karnataka Man Rapes Woman In Front of Her Husband, Forces to Convert, Couple Booked

Bengaluru: An FIR was registered against seven persons including a couple in Karnataka, for allegedly forcing a 28-year-old married woman to convert to Islam through blackmail using her private photos.

According to police, the woman alleged that she was raped by the accused in front of his wife, and was forced to wear a burkha and not wear ‘kumkum’ on her forehead.

The accused, identified as Rafik, and his wife, allegedly engaged in sexual activities with her. He then took intimate photos of her which he used to blackmail her, forcing her to convert from Hinduism to Islam.

According to reports, Rafik and his wife made the woman move into their house in Belagavi in 2023. The woman alleged that she was raped by Rafik in 2023, in front of his wife, when the three lived together.

In April this year, the couple allegedly asked the woman to stop wearing ‘kumkum’ and forced her to wear a burkha and perform namaz five times a day, alleged the victim. Rafik asked her to divorce her husband and threatened to leak the intimate photos of her if she didn’t agree to his demands, the woman alleged. She added that the couple threatened to murder her if she didn’t convert.

As per the complaint filed by the woman, an FIR was registered in Saundatti against seven people 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, including those for rape, kidnapping, wrongful confinement and criminal intimidation.