Kerala woman’s forced conversion to Islam by ‘husband’: NIA to probe case

The woman had moved HC in November 2017 alleging that a Muslim man tried to convert her to Islam and forged documents to marry her.

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Months after a Hindu woman from Kerala moved the High court alleging that a Muslim man tried to convert her to Islam and forged documents to marry her, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has announced its decision to probe the controversial case.

NIA had said that it was ready to probe the matter under the High Court’s directive. The decision follows the arrest of two persons – Fayas (24) and Siyad (48) – earlier this month by Ernakulam police in connection with the case. The men were charged with helping Muhammad Riyas, the key accused in the case.

In her petition to the HC, the woman had mentioned that Muhammad Riyas, a native of New Mahe, near Thalassery, had taken her to Saudi Arabia and had plans to take her to Syria thereafter, to be sold as a sex slave to ISIS. The woman had moved the HC in November 2017, and a case was registered on December 13, 2017.

She asked for an NIA investigation into the matter, and levelled sexual exploitation and other charges on Muhammad Riyas. The ‘husband’ however had denied all accusations and charges.

Background

The woman, a native of Pathanamthitta who grew up in Gujarat, met Muhammad Riyas in 2014 while studying at a college in Bengaluru. In her petition, she alleged that Riyas forced her to have sexual intercourse with him, and also claimed that he recorded the act to threaten her further.

She further said that Riyas forcibly enrolled her in a madrassa and forged documents to get their marriage registered in May 2016. Riyas later took her to Saudi Arabia along with his family in August where she was forced to watch videos of Islamic preacher Zakir Naik. She managed to escape and contact her family in Gujarat in October.