Cleric arrested in case of kidnapping, conversion of 17-year-old girl in Haryana's Nuh

Gurugram, Oct 1 (PTI) A cleric and the main accused have been arrested in the case of kidnapping and conversion of a 17-year-old girl in Nuh, police said.

The accused allegedly confessed that they had forced the girl to convert to Islam and marry. The police have also taken two other suspects in custody and are questioning them, they added.

According to the police, the arrested accused were identified as cleric Raiees Uddin and main accused Tariq, a resident of the Bhadanpur village in the Nuh district. The police have allegedly recovered fake documents of 'nikah' from their possession. Both the accused were taken on two days of remand after being produced in the Nuh court, said the police.

Tauru DSP Abhimanyu Lohan said that Tariq had allegedly eloped with the Bihar native minor girl on the pretext of marriage on August 20. Her family members searched for her for many days, and when she could not be found anywhere, they filed a complaint. Following the complaint, an FIR was registered at the Sadar Tauru police station on September 26 and on the next day, the police arrested Tariq and recovered the girl from his clutches, he added.

During interrogation, he allegedly produced some fake documents in which he claimed that the girl was not a minor. Police investigation also revealed that Tariq allegedly got the girl married and the names of witnesses mentioned in the 'nikahnama' had nothing to do with the reality, they added.

The investigation also revealed that the cleric Raiees Uddin allegedly played a key role in the 'nikah'.

"During the interrogation of the accused, it was revealed that both the nikah and the nikahnama are fake. Not only was the nikah solemnised through religious conversion without the girl's consent, but she was also forced into physical relations," said the DSP. PTI COR MNK MNK