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| Nizam Shaikh allegedly raped the girl for the first time five years ago, police said. |
A man, identified as Asim Nizam Shaikh (aged 37), has been arrested by Navsari police in Gujarat for allegedly raping and blackmailing a girl for almost five years. The victim was 16 years old when she was first raped by the accused, who recorded a video of the incident to blackmail her. The arrest was made on Tuesday from Vasai near Mumbai, and the police have stated that it is a case of 'love jihad'.
"Love jihad" is a term used by the right-wing activists to refer to an alleged conspiracy to convert Hindu girls to Islam by marrying them.
To save himself from getting caught, Nizam Shaikh, who is married and has children, forced the victim to marry his accomplice Ronak Patel, police said.
Ronak Patel, who was behind bars in a case of murder, came out on parole recently and is yet to be apprehended.
On the victim's complaint, a First Information Report was registered against the duo under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, sections 376(2)(n) and 506(2) of the Indian Penal Code which deal with rape and criminal intimidation, and the Information Technology Act at Khergam police station on June 23.
The Superintendent of Police in Navsari, Rushikesh Upadhyay, has reported that the accused individuals, Shaikh and Patel, went into hiding after an FIR was registered against them. However, the police were able to locate Shaikh at a hotel in Vasai, Mumbai, and arrested him on Tuesday. Following his arrest, Shaikh was remanded in police custody for nine days by a POCSO court in Navsari. It is alleged that Shaikh, a resident of Khergam, had recorded videos of the victim and blackmailed her and her family for five years. Furthermore, he had sent these videos to the victim's fiance, leading to the cancellation of their engagement.
Navsari police said in their statement that Nizam Shaikh was a bootlegger and had 18 cases related to prohibition, assault and illegal money-lending registered against. His father Nizam and three brothers also face criminal cases, said the statement.
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