Man booked in Budaun for raping minor, pressuring her to convert religion

Budaun (UP), Aug 3 (PTI) A man here has been booked for allegedly raping a minor girl while impersonating as a Hindu, police said on Sunday.

Arbaaz is a former hookah bar operator, they said, and is on the run. His hookah bar shut down in 2022.

He was booked at Sadar Kotwali Police Station on Saturday at the direction of Senior Superintendent of Police Brijesh Singh.

The girl, about 17, in her complaint, alleged that when she first met Arbaaz in July 2022, he introduced himself as Shivam alias Bobby and wore a red thread on his wrist.

Over time, he befriended her and took her to Delhi in September 2022, where he allegedly drugged and raped her multiple times, the FIR said.

The girl alleged that Arbaaz filmed the assaults and threatened to make the videos public if she did not convert to Islam.

The FIR says that several men used to operate from the now-closed hookah bar, allegedly targeting Hindu girls, drugging them, filming them, and blackmailing them for sexual and psychological exploitation.

On July 16, this year, Arbaaz allegedly intercepted the girl, assaulted her, and threatened her against pursuing legal action.

She approached Sadar Kotwali police, who detained the accused briefly but released him within half an hour, the FIR states.

Dissatisfied, the girl submitted a written complaint to the SSP, after which a formal case was registered under the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act.

Circle officer Rajnish Upadhyay said that Arbaaz was earlier booked under the Gangster Act and was jailed. PTI COR ABN VN VN