Woman accuses boyfriend of raping, forcing her to convert after watching ’The Kerala Story’

Mangalore Today News Network

Indore, May 23, 2023: A 23-year-old man was arrested in Indore for allegedly raping his girlfriend and pressuring her to convert her religion. The woman had filed an FIR against the man after watching ’The Kerala Story’, police said.

 

The woman filed the complaint "after she fell into the trap of love under the pretext of marriage", according to police.

The victim, who is highly educated and is employed with a private company, had befriended the accused, identified as Faizan, while studying in a coaching centre four years ago. The friendship slowly turned into love. Later, the woman started living with him.

The accused, who studied till Class 12 and is unemployed, wanted to marry his girlfriend and coerced her repeatedly to convert her religion. When the woman refused to budge, he allegedly raped and thrashed her several times.

One day, the woman asked her boyfriend if he wanted to watch ’The Kerala Story’. After much persuasion, the accused reluctantly agreed to watch the movie with her.

The duo watched the movie and it was when the woman decided to take a stand for herself. She gathered courage after watching the film and decided to file a complaint against her boyfriend, following a heated argument with him.

Faizan, the accused, was arrested under provisions of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act 2021, which prohibits conversion by force or cheating, and the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Khajrana police station in-charge Dinesh Verma told reporters.

"The woman said she and the man recently went to watch ’The Kerala Story’. After watching the film, the duo argued and the man left her after assaulting her. She approached the police on May 19 and lodged an FIR," the police officer said.

"All the allegations are being thoroughly investigated," Dinesh Verma said.

’The Kerala Story’, which was released in theatre halls on May 5, claims that women from Kerala were forced to convert to Islam and recruited by the terror group Islamic State (IS).

The movie, which had already generated controversy over its content even before its release, was banned in West Bengal on May 8, fearing tension among communities. Theatres in Tamil Nadu had decided to stop the movie’s screening from May 7 onwards due to poor audience turnout and the law and order situation.

On May 18, the Supreme Court stayed the West Bengal government’s order banning the film in the state and asked Tamil Nadu to ensure the safety of the moviegoers.

The movie has been declared tax-free in the BJP-ruled states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Uttarakhand.

Courtesy: India Today