Horrific details of love jihad (grooming) from Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar and the role of the police for allegedly protecting Islamists and cracking down on Hindus raising their voices have been shared by Legal Rights Observatory (LRO).

Grooming in Ahmednagar’s Rahuri

A minor girl from Umbre Village in Ahmednagar’s Rahuri registered an FIR against eight persons for trapping her in the name of love and subsequently forcing her to embrace Islam. Avej Nisar Sheikh, Kaif Sheikh, Sohail Sheikh, Heena Sheikh, Alisha Sheikh, Salim Pathan, Altaf Sheikh and Shakir Sayyed are the accused. Four persons including two women have been arrested. The accused were booked by Nagar police under IPC sections 354, 354D, 109, 34 and sections 8 and 12 of the POCSO Act.

Other girls who attended the same tuition/coaching center as this victim have also allegedly been targeted in the same manner.

Heena Shaikh, one of the accused, is a tuition teacher who is said to have groomed the girls as per the complaint. The victim’s complaint states that she along with her friends joined Shaikh’s classes in 2021 when they were in class 10. Furthermore, she allowed boys from her community to attend her classes and encouraged Hindu girls to be friendly with them. The victim noted that the boys were allowed in Shaikh’s classes even though they had nothing to do with tuition classes.

Shaikh asked the girls to behave like Muslims, sport burqas and quit wearing bangles and bindis. Avej, Kaif, Sohail and other accused boys sat in the tuition classes with the girls. Initially, Avej seemed respectful towards women, and the victim decided to befriend him. However, things took a dark turn when he began establishing contact with her brother and visiting her home.

Later, Avej professed his love for her and soon resorted to messaging her on her phone, feigning concern for her safety. The situation escalated when he coerced her into sending personal photographs, which he later used to blackmail her to his advantage.

The victim recalled that Avej even urged her to abandon her Hindu religion and elope with him. He claimed that people from his community were willing to support them financially and with accommodation. Refusing his demands, the victim faced emotional blackmail, even leading Avej to harm himself to pressure her into complying.

A shocking twist emerged when Avej sought the help of his sister, Alisha, to convince the victim to continue their communication. Alisha portrayed Avej as deeply in love and facilitated their contact, even resorting to Instagram messages and threats of viral exposure if the victim refused to respond.

During tuition hours, the victim overheard conversations involving Kaif and Sohail, who encouraged Avej to abduct her. This alarmed the victim, prompting her to cease communication with Avej. Afraid to reveal the incidents at home, she remained silent until another girl from the tuition filed a complaint against Avej. Upon learning of this, the victim finally confided in her parents about Avej’s behaviour over the past two years.

The complaint also included accusations against Kaif, Sohail, Heena, Alisha, Salim Pathan, Altaf Sheikh, and Shakir Sayyed, as they were allegedly involved in coercion and forced conversions.

The victim also mentioned that the tuition teacher Shaikh played a role in providing photographs of Hindu girls to the boys. She allegedly manipulated the girls into taking selfies during Eid celebrations which were later morphed and misused for blackmail to initiate relationships with Muslim boys.

The Nagar police have received similar complaints from other girls in the same tuition, accusing Avej of trapping them in love affairs and coercing them into responding to his advances, leading to forced conversions.

Terrified by the turn of events, Umbre villagers have decided not to send their girls to school. A letter given by Umbre villagers to BJP MLA Prasad Lad highlights the fear they are under. It says the villagers will not send their girls to school in view of instances of love jihad.

It further notes that “our girls are trapped in love jihad, conspiracies are hatched to elope with our girls, Hindu boys who help the victim and their families are trapped in false cases…Our girls will do domestic chores instead and survive for their life if this is what they have to face at the places of education”.

Nagar police torture Hindus

“Hindus demanding action against grooming gang racket and even the victim’s father were mercilessly thrashed by Nagar Police for protesting against Love Jihad. Victims and their relatives were forced to languish at the police station for 14 hours, intimidated, and coerced to change the statement so that the main culprit can be saved n police crimes could be whitewashed. Police Inspector Dhananjay Jadhav of Nagar Police is guilty of unprovoked attacks on Hindus”, tweeted LRO.

BJP MLC Prasad Lad condemned the incident and also visited the victims to offer them support. He raised the matter in Maharashtra’s Vidhan Parishad. He also said that CCTV footage of the event is available.

Rahuri MLA Prajakt Tanpure also assured Hindus of his support while asking Hindu boys to be fearless. Tanpure warned the Nagar police not to harass Hindu youths. In the meanwhile, Rahuri Police Inspector Dhananjay Jadhav said they have ‘not been unfair to anyone’ and assured of ‘delivering justice in the matter’.

Hindus targeted with false cases

According to reports, a counter FIR has been filed by one of the accused, Salim Pathan, alleging that members of the Hindu organization attacked his place of work. Furthermore, he claims that they forcibly entered a nearby Masjid, causing disturbance and chaos on the premises. According to Pathan’s account, the Hindu members damaged the Masjid using rods and sticks. In response to this complaint, the Police have taken action and booked approximately 25 Hindus under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Bombay Police Act. The authorities are currently investigating the matter to determine the truth behind these conflicting claims.

According to statements from members of the Hindu organization, approximately 25 Hindus have been booked by the police in connection with the incident. However, they claim that many of these individuals were not present during the alleged incident and were deliberately targeted without any involvement in the case. Shockingly, some Hindu members were allegedly subjected to brutal beatings by the local police when they gathered to support and assist the victim girls.

As of now, the police have arrested four of the accused, including Heena Sheikh and Avej, based on the complaint filed by the minor Hindu girls. Additionally, 14 out of the 25 Hindu members, as mentioned in the counter-complaint filed by accused Salim Pathan, have been taken into custody. The investigation into the case is ongoing, and authorities are continuing their efforts to uncover the truth.