UP Man arrested for raping Dalit woman, converting her to Islam

Representational Image. File Pic

A man in UP's Gonda was arrested for allegedly raping a 25-year-old Dalit woman on the pretext of marriage and forcing her to convert to Islam, an officer said on Wednesday

"The victim in her complaint has accused one Taj Mohammed for raping her on pretext of marriage and converting her to Islam forcibly," Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Manoj Kumar Rawat said.

The victim was allegedly raped last year after which the accused continued to threaten her with violent repercussions if she told anyone about the incident, the officer said. As per the PTI report, a few days ago, he also hurled casteist slurs at her.

Based on her complaint on Tuesday, police lodged an FIR against Taj Mohammed under charges of rape (376 IPC), along with sections of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and UP Anti-Conversion law.

"We have arrested the accused and initiated investigation into the matter," said the officer.

Thane doctor's bail plea in rape case rejected by court

A court rejected a Thane doctor's bail plea arrested for allegedly raping a woman after promising to marry her. The Thane doctor, aged 32, was denied bail since the court deemed that he could tamper the evidence since the probe in the case is ongoing, reported PTI.

The court, per the PTI report, stated, "Tampering of evidence is possible in case of grant of bail during the pendency of the investigation."

Additional Sessions Judge Premal S Vithalani, while denying the Thane doctor bail, said, "Hence, to my mind, looking at the stage of the investigation, the seriousness of the offence and facts of the case, no case for grant of bail is made out.'

Reportedly he passed an order in the case on June 11 and a copy of it was made available on Tuesday.

The judge, in his order denying bail to the Thane doctor, said that the verdict on the bail plea has to be given considering the facts and circumstances of a case. Judge Vithalani said, "Every bail application needs to be decided by considering facts and circumstances of the particular case. There cannot be a straitjacket formula while granting or rejecting bail applications."

Reportedly, the prosecution said that the Thane doctor and the 27-year-old woman became friends in 2017 and he proposed marriage in 2020.

The PTI report added that the woman approached police earlier this year after which an FIR was registered against him for rape and criminal intimidation. The Thane doctor, the report stated, was arrested on May 7 after the court rejected his anticipatory bail plea on April 24.

Per the PTI report, the protection had challenged the Thane doctor's bail plea claiming that he had exploited the woman with false promise of marriage and threatened her to pursue sexual relationships.

The court considered the evidence, per the PTI report, which included mobile phone records and an audio recording provided by the informant's counsel. The court said, "Looking at the facts of the case, it is to be seen whether the accused deserves a grant of bail. There is no doubt that there was consent of the informant for physical relations. Many photographs showing intimacy have been placed on record by the advocate for the accused."

However, it is alleged that due to the accused's false promise of marriage and threats to make images and videos of sexual activity viral, the informant gave assent, according to the court, adding that "definitely, such consent cannot be said to be valid consent under law."