UP Police quiz Pilibhit cleric in KGMU rape case, university decides to expel accused doctor

Pilibhit/Lucknow, Jan 13 (PTI) King George's Medical University (KGMU) has decided to expel a junior resident doctor who has been accused of sexual exploitation, religious conversion and "love jihad" by a colleague, as police questioned a Muslim cleric in Pilibhit in connection with the probe.

The cleric, Zahid Hasan Rana, who serves as the city Qazi in Pilibhit district, was questioned by Lucknow police after his name surfaced in the case linked to KGMU junior resident Dr Ramizuddin Naik.

Police said they are examining whether a marriage allegedly connected to him was conducted in compliance with legal procedures and the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021.

Rana told reporters that he cooperated fully with investigators and provided all information related to the marriage. He denied any wrongdoing and said the woman who filed the complaint in Lucknow was not the one whose marriage he had solemnised.

He claimed he conducted the 'nikah' of Naik and a Hindu woman at his residence in March last year in the presence of the woman's parents and brother, only after obtaining their consent. Rana maintained that no religious conversion took place and that the 'nikahnama' recorded the woman's original Hindu name.

He also claimed the woman whose marriage he conducted continues to live with Naik and has not lodged any complaint.

Meanwhile, KGMU spokesperson K K Singh told reporters on Monday that the vice chancellor had briefed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on the case and the action taken by the university.

Official sources said KGMU Vice Chancellor Sonia Nityanand met the chief minister in Lucknow and apprised him of the findings of the university's internal inquiry, including the report of the Vishakha Committee, which has prima facie found the allegations against the accused doctor to be true.

Nityanand also informed Adityanath that KGMU has decided to expel the accused from the MD course, the sources said.

Naik was arrested on January 10 following a complaint by a woman doctor, who accused him of concealing his marital status, sexually exploiting her on the promise of marriage, forcing her to undergo an abortion, threatening her and pressuring her to convert.

According to the official sources, Uttar Pradesh Police is also examining the case as a possible organised religious conversion racket and probing whether it is linked to a larger network.

The investigation may be transferred to the state's Special Task Force, they added.

Police said further investigation is underway to establish the sequence of events and the role of other individuals named in the case. PTI COR/KIS SKY DIV DIV