Man booked under anti-conversion law for ‘abduction, rape’ in Gujarat

A 23-year-old married man has been booked under the newly amended Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act 2021 by Valsad police for allegedly kidnapping and raping a 19-year-old woman. This is the second case registered under the Act after it came into force on June 15.

The woman went missing on June 10 after she left home, and her family filed a missing complaint, suspecting the involvement of the man, who was known to the 19-year-old and her family.

Police said they are “trying to find out whether they got married”.

Valsad police inspector BJ Sarwaiya said, “Medical examination was done on both of them. The accused got married in January… The woman said in her complaint that he used to threaten to kill her brother if she did not keep a relationship with him. On June 10, he forced her to go to Indore. They first reached Ajmer in Rajasthan and stayed there for a couple of days. From there he took her to Indore. The accused also took her to a religious priest and tied a taweez around her neck. We are trying to find out whether they got married.”