The parents of the 22-year-old girl, who back-tracked from her statement of sexual abuse and religion conversion, finally paid the price as the local cops in Meerut registered a case against them for assault and threat to life of the `victim’.
Two days after the girl claimed that there is a threat to her life from her parents, police registered a case under section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code against them, SSP Meerut Onkar Singh disclosed to the media persons on Tuesday. Since the matter is already sub-judice, and the report is also registered a Non-Cognizance Report (NCR), so the investigation into the said matter will be only started on the directions of the court after the girl records her statement, local police in Meerut revealed.
The girl had filed a complaint on Sunday with the Mahila Police Station against her parents, saying that she had run away from her house on her own free will with Kaleem, a Muslim, as there was “threat to her life” and alleged that she was also “beaten up”.
In an earlier complaint lodged on August 3, the girl had alleged that she had been abducted, gang-raped and forcibly converted to Islam. The woman’s father had also lodged a complaint in August in Kharkhauda police station against Village Pradhan Nawab Khan, cleric Sallaullah, his wife and daughter Nishant for abduction and rape.
However, the girl approached the woman police station in Meerut on last Sunday morning and claimed that there is a threat to her life from her parents. According to the complainant, her family had forced her to file a false complaint and when she objected, they threatened her with dire consequences and that she ran away fearing danger to her life. The alleged victim said that she had “gone on her own free will” with the boy, contradicting to what she had said in her Sec 164 (of the CrPC) statement to a magistrate earlier on.
However, the father of the girl has disputed her claim and said she has been threatened to give a retraction statement by one Saddam who forcibly took her to the woman police station on Sunday morning. Bharatiya Janta Party, also raised suspicion over sudden turn of events and demanded a probe by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The police said that after recording her statement in front of an executive magistrate, she has been sent to Nari Niketan (women’s home) for her safety and protection. “She told the woman police officer that she has life threat from her own parents. On this ground she has been sent to the Nari Niketan for the safety and protection,” the SSP said.
The matter of alleged gang-rape and conversion in August was latched up by the BJP whose leaders including Yogi Adityanath, state in charge of by-elections, exploited the issue of ‘love jihad’, especially in western parts of the state. As the incident sparked an outrage, the Centre sought a detailed report from State government at the earliest while the family of the girl demanded a CBI probe.