Another case of grooming jihad using a Hindu identity was reported from Lucknow. To trap the young Hindu girl, Nawazish became Vishal Thakur and befriended the victim. He groomed, sexually exploited, stole INR 2.5 lakh and is now cooling his heels in jail.
A few days ago, the victim filed a case against the accused at Aliganj police station in Lucknow. According to Ghazipur police Inspector Anil Kumar, he has been arrested and is now in judicial custody. Nawazish is originally from Ghazipur.
The accused is pursuing his B. Tech from a private college in Lucknow. His father’s name is Shamshul and Nawazish used to engage in odd jobs during his free time. The victim came in contact with Nawazish in August when she went to his shop to get her KYC updated. It is a recurring pattern that such shops are used by these predators to target girls.
After getting her mobile number, the accused introduced himself as a Hindu and started grooming her. To convince her, he used to wear a Kalawa on his wrist. Using the fake Hindu identity, the accused lured the victim and they started ‘dating.’
Promising marriage, Nawazish raped the victim on several occasions. Citing financial difficulties, he even ‘borrowed’ Rs. 2.5 lakh from the victim. When the victim understood that she had been duped, she approached the Aliganj police. The accused was absconding since then but the police caught him when he was trying to escape to Ghazipur.
Investigators recovered details and phone numbers of many other girls from Nawazish’s laptop, including photos. It is feared that he implicated and raped many girls as part of his grooming jihad. Lucknow Police is probing and is on the lookout for three of his friends suspected to be involved in this grooming racket.
Ghazipur is close to the Uttar Pradesh-Bihar border and lies just east of Varanasi. The district has a sizeable Muslim population and boasts of ‘leaders’ like Mukhtar Ansari. Ansari is a dreaded gangster turned politician and a relative of former Vice President Hamid Ansari. He terrorized much of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Punjab and is now incarcerated in a UP jail.
