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Hyderabad: Hyderabad police on Thursday arrested a Dubai-based NRI for allegedly forcing a woman to convert to Islam and duping her. The woman has alleged that the man had promised to marry her and had coerced her to convert to Islam. However, the man later refused to honor the commitment.

Based on the complaint filed by the victim, cops at Malkajgiri police station have booked the accused for rape and cheating, sources said, under sections 376 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code.

According to sources, 25-year-old Pinky Chanda has told the police that the couple were working in the same company and had fallen in love, following which the man forced her to convert to Islam before they left for Dubai to marry. Once they reached the city, she was asked to follow all the rules and rituals pertaining to Islam, including wearing a hijab to work. The woman had also got her name changed to Fathima Zehra, before she left India.

However, despite living together for four years, the boyfriend, Safdar Abbas Zaidi, refused to marry her, claiming that she had not followed the rules properly, the woman told the police.

Following this, she returned to Hyderabad where she lodged the complaint with the police. She also submitted documents with the police pertaining to her name change that was finalised at the Hyderabad Haj house.