While such cases have not been unheard-of in
India, a secular country infested with Islamists, this incident is
unnerving, considering the fact that a doctor involved in such
practices.
The victim’s mother alleges that Dr. Masroor, a Muslim, introduced himself
as Dr. Amit, employed with the district hospital, to groom her
16-year-old daughter, who is a student in class 12. He would follow her
to her college and wait there, pretending to be “in love” with her. At
one point, the girl complained of rashes on her hand, Masroor invited
her to his room on the pretext of offering treatment. He would then
regularly coerce her to his house to give her drugs, rape her and film
the entire act. His family also played along, until finally they
succeeded in deceiving the girl into religious conversion. They had
managed to procure counterfeit IDs for the victim showing that she was
of marriageable age as well.
While the mother of the girl claims that her daughter was born in
2005, document produced by Masroor and his family shows the year of
birth as 2003. On October 25, the victim’s family learnt that their
daughter was with Masroor; when they arrived at his place they found her
lying unconscious. Masroor admitted to having administered her
medication and having converted her to Islam. The victim’s mother
opposed the conversion and threatened to call the police. Sensing
danger, Masroor threatened to kill both of them and fled.
The Station House Officer of Sungarhi, Inspector Shrikant Dwivedi,
has affirmed that the victim party has lodged a report of rape and
grooming jihad against Dr Masroor, Mubina Begum, aka Bina Begum Matloof,
the brother of the doctor, and three other unidentified individuals.
The girl was taken for a medical examination and efforts to apprehend
the accused are ongoing.
This incident closely follows a sensational case of forced conversion
reported from the Agar-Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh. A Muslim doctor,
Nasir Khan, was booked for forcibly circumcising his 31-year-old Hindu servant in order to convert him to Islam. Dashrath Mehar, the victim, in his complaint
to the police, alleged that the doctor, along with his son, performed
circumcision on him against his will, and intimidated him into embracing
Islam, offering namaz (Islamic prayer), and following other Muslim
rituals.
Dashrath also states that he was barred from visiting Hindu temples.
He had been working as Khan’s employee since 2007, but was fed up with
the harassment that had been meted out to him by the doctor and his son
Zubair, and so at one point he quit his job and returned to his native
village. Nasir Khan went to Dashrath’s village and pleaded with him to
resume his duties. But during his second term of service, the doctor
Nasir Khan and his son Zubair started trying to force him to convert to
Islam. Dashrath recounts that they would also physically assault him.
Around seven months ago, the father-son duo forcibly had Dashrath
circumcised, an important practice followed by Muslim men. They also
renamed him, Ashraf. On September 23, Dashrath approached the police to
find some relief and legal assistance in his misery. Taking cognizance
of his suffering, police filed a complaint against Nasir Khan and his
son, and launched a further investigation into the matter. The accused
have been booked: Nasir Khan under Section 3/5 of the Madhya Pradesh
Religious Freedom Ordinance 2020.
The Kotwali police station in-charge officer Ranjit Singh has
highlighted the fact that the accused in Dashrath’s case is a repeat
offender and already has an ongoing case against him in the Agar
district.
These two cases negate the popular narrative that the lack of
education and opportunities lead members of Muslim communities to turn
to jihad activity. It is extremely significant that doctors from the
Muslim community would become such radical hardliners, using their
education propagating Islam and not for the betterment of the country.
Islamists are also lurking within the ranks of Indian Administrative Services; a shocking video
featuring IAS Officer Mohammed Iftikharuddin surfaced on the Internet
in September. The IAS officer, who is serving as the Chairman of Uttar
Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation, could be seen sitting with a
group of Islamic skull-cap wearing men in white kurta pyjamas,
discussing strategies of expanding Islam in the country. He is accused
of threatening to ruin people’s lives if they didn’t convert to Islam.
A
Special Investigation Team has been set up by the state government to
probe further into this matter.
