BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court rejected the bail petition of a 33-year-old man who is facing charges of luring a 28-year-old married woman with children on the pretext of getting her a job, confining her in a house, raping her repeatedly, and forcing her to convert to Islam to marry him.
"The act of inducing innocent and poor women and forcibly converting to Islam is a serious development and therefore, it is necessary to give a message to society that courts are vigilant to regulate such activities and also guarding innocent and underprivileged women and children of society," said Justice Rachaiah, rejecting the petition filed by Rafiq aka Laalsab Bepari (33), an agriculturist from a village in Savadatti taluk of Belagavi district, recently.
The accused approached the high court as his bail petition was rejected by the sessions court in Belagavi in May 2024. He was booked under provisions of IPC, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Act, 2022.
The victim was married in 2013 and has two children. She was looking after a retail shop during lunch hour when her mother-in-law went home. Rafiq, who used to visit the shop, became close to the victim. He asked for her mobile number but she refused to share it. Later, he took her number from her neighbour and would talk with her often and offered her a bank job. Eventually, Rafiq started an affair with the woman, which came to her husband's knowledge. He sent her to her parental home in 2021. With the intervention of elders in the village, the woman was reunited with her husband. The accused started blackmailing her, saying he would upload her photos and videos on social media if she did not oblige him with sexual favours. He then brought her from her village to Swadar Kendra in Belagavi.