Woman accuses Nalasopara man of repeated sexual assault on promise of marriage; case filed
Police have booked Arif Abu Shaikh, his mother and a relative on a woman's complaint; the complaint also makes wider claims that are yet to be verified.
A young woman in Nalasopara has alleged that she was repeatedly sexually assaulted on the pretext of marriage. On her complaint, a case has been registered at Nalasopara police station against Arif Abu Shaikh, his mother Rukshana and a relative, Sahil Khan. The complaint also claims that the accused cheated several other young women in a similar manner, which has widened the scope of the case.
According to the complaint filed with the police, the woman met Arif Abu Shaikh at a gym. She alleges that he then grew close to her and lured her with promises of love. She has also stated in the complaint that he repeatedly sexually assaulted her after promising to marry her. The woman has further said she was cheated through various inducements.
The same complaint makes another major claim. It claims that the accused cheated as many as 70 to 80 Hindu young women with various inducements and committed wrongdoing against them. It also alleges that he took obscene photographs and videos of some women and misused them.
However, the truth of these claims has not yet been established by the investigation. The claims in the complaint stand only at the level of a complaint for now, and are yet to be verified through investigation. How much corroboration the police probe lends to these allegations will be important. For the present, all of this remains allegation and claim.
After receiving information about the case, Nalasopara police registered a case against the three, Arif Abu Shaikh, his mother Rukshana and relative Sahil Khan. Police have acted under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act.
As the victim is Hindu and the accused is Muslim, some Hindutva organisations are also making various allegations over the case. The police have not given any official response to these allegations.
Police are currently investigating the allegations in the complaint, the role of the persons concerned, and the alleged photographs and videos. The exact facts will become clear only after the investigation is complete.
