A shocking case has emerged in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad district, where a minor girl endured repeated sexual assault over three years at the hands of her mother’s boyfriend, Ashfaq Sheikh. The 15-year-old victim, whose mother is reportedly a ‘love jihad’ victim and has been missing for the past three years, revealed the horrifying details. Ashfaq Sheikh was arrested on November 23 following the filing of a case, with the events outlined in the First Information Report (FIR) spanning from January 1, 2020, to November 23, 2023.
The complaint, submitted by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) members to the Pundalik Nagar police station, unveils a distressing narrative. The victim disclosed that her mother had divorced her first husband when the girl was two years old. Subsequently, she moved in with Ashfaq Sheikh in Bharat Nagar, where she gave birth to a son named Sameer. However, the accused did not consider the child his own, leading to frequent disputes between the couple.
The victim, now residing in the same area with her mother and brother born to Ashfaq, recalled an incident approximately three years ago. She narrated an altercation where her mother’s throat was scratched, but her mother went missing. Ashfaq claimed she had left, making preparations to take the children from Aurangabad to Mumbai. The girl, skeptical of his claims, learned from neighbors that her mother had suffered a head injury on the same day, with Ashfaq seen chasing her with a wooden stick.
Ashfaq Sheikh then shifted the children to Mumbai, where he stayed for eight days. During this time, he sexually abused the adolescent, and later, in Aurangabad‘s Phulambri, he began raping her regularly after drugging her with chocolate and pills in milk. The abuse continued at his sister Irfana’s residence in Naregaon, where he discussed arranging the girl’s Nikah (Islamic marriage) and Haldi ceremony while coercing her into a physical relationship. The victim resisted, leading to threats of death if she refused to comply.
The perpetrator, showing her pornographic films on his mobile and forcing her to dance naked, continued the sexual abuse in Aurangabad after returning. On October 23, the girl managed to escape after kicking Ashfaq when he attempted to rape her again. Seeking refuge at a friend’s house, she subsequently reported the harrowing ordeal at the Pundalik Nagar police station the following morning.
A missing report was filed by Ashfaq Sheikh, claiming the victim had absconded with someone else, while the victim highlighted her safety and the three years of suffering at his hands. The Hindu group extended support to the victim, and the police have initiated legal proceedings under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, along with sections 376, 376 (2)(n), 376 (3), 323, and 504 of the Indian Penal Code. Ashfaq Sheikh is in custody, and investigations are ongoing.
