Girl raped, forced to convert in Banda; 7 held, one on the run

Kanpur/Jhansi: As many as seven persons including two women were on Thursday arrested in Banda on charges of raping a girl on pretext of marriage and forcing her to change her religion. Five of the accused belong to one family. One of the accused is still absconding.
One Javed of Atarra Chungi in Banda reportedly had an affair with the girl for the past two years. The girl’s parents accused him of forcing her to change religion and marry him.
On September 1, the girl at around 11 am had left the house saying that she was going to an Internet cafe. However, on the way, she met Javed, who took her to the Sarsaul area of Kanpur, on the pretext of a birthday party. Javed was accompanied by his family members.
They all allegedly forced her to convert her religion but she declined. Later, she was kept hostage in cities like Lucknow, Barabanki and Jhansi.
On Wednesday, somehow the girl escaped from Sarsaul and reached her native place and told her parents that Javed and his family members were pressurizing her to convert to their religion.
Subsequently, the family members of the girl approached Banda Sadar Kotwali police and lodged a complaint in this regard. Acting on which, the police registered an FIR under the relevant sections of IPC, including 376, 342, 506, 120 B, 3/4 POCSO Act and 3/5 (1) Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance.
Banda superintendent of police Abhinandan constituted an SOG team. The police team arrested seven people including Javed, his brothers Taufeeq, Asif, mother Baby, his married sister Ishrat, a resident of Mardanaka.
SP Abhinandan said that Dinesh Yadav of Avanti Nagar and Sunil Gupta, a resident of Khaipar, were also involved in pressurizing the girl for the conversion, they have also been arrested. Aftab alias Noor is absconding, raids are underway to make his arrest possible. “On the disappearance of the girl, a case was already registered by the family members under Section 366 of IPC. In this case, more sections were added,” said SP further.
Investigators further said that the girl told them that even the accused Javed had converted himself to Hinduism, but later he backtracked from his promise of marrying and instead started pressurizing her to change her religion. Javed knew her for the past two years and started sexually abusing her when she was a minor, over the pretext of marriage. At present the girl had attained the age of 18.
The police said that the five arrests have been made from near Khaipar locality bus stand, and two other accused were arrested from Nawab Tank, Banda.