A married woman in Rajkot has attempted suicide after a man and his accomplices sexually exploited and blackmailed her, and tried to force her to change her religion.
In her police complaint, the survivor said she connected with the main accused on Instagram four months ago, where he used the profile name 'Jiddi Boy'. After they had known each other for a few months, he went to Rajkot and took her to a hotel with the help of an accomplice named Anisha Kashmi. Officials said the man then sexually assaulted the survivor inside the hotel room and captured photos and videos to blackmail her, threatening to ruin her life if she disclosed the incident.
The woman discovered two months later that the man was actually Afzal Karabhai Sida from Junagadh. After this, Afzal and Anisha began hosting social media live sessions to publicly harass and defame her. When she informed her husband and submitted an initial application to the police, two other men, Ravi Gosai from Ahmedabad and Vijay Chudasama from Junagadh, threatened her to withdraw the complaint.
The survivor alleged that Afzal and Anisha subjected her to intense mental pressure to get her to divorce her husband and undergo a religious conversion. Afzal forcibly took her to various shrines, where he made her wear threads and drink water as part of a superstitious practice, followed by direct threats to force her to embrace Islam.
When she attempted to cut off ties, Afzal blackmailed her with the photos and videos. Due to the constant harassment, the survivor attempted suicide by drinking acid at her home. Her husband rushed her to a hospital, saving her life. The survivor then approached the police again.
One of Afzal's woman accomplices has been arrested from Morbi, and investigation has revealed that Afzal is a criminal who earlier evaded the Gangajaliya police in a case involving the abduction of a Muslim minor.
Union Minister Ramdas Athawale issued a statement during his visit to Rajkot regarding the issue of conversion in Gujarat. He stated that forced conversions of Hindu women must not happen and that the government is taking strict action to stop them.
