Charges framed in Chandigarh ‘love jihad’ case

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 6

A local court on Thursday framed rape and criminal intimidation charges against a Srinagar resident. A 19-year-old girl from the city had approached the High Court alleging that the minor had raped her and forcibly converted her to Islam.

According to the girl’s original plea, the accused befriended her on Facebook in January 2016. In November, they both met when the accused came to Chandigarh and the girl got to know that he was a Muslim. She alleged that they again met in April 2017 when the accused forced her into a physical relationship and took objectionable pictures.

She alleged that she was forced to convert to Islam and later in mid-2017, she went to Srinagar where she was raped by five members of his family. On June 4 this year, she alleged an acid attack while going to a juvenile court. However, doctors found no such injury on her face and the fact was corroborated in the status report of the police.

According to accused’s counsel Terminder Singh, the boy is being falsely implicated. “The girl refused a medical examination and has not been able to prove her age”. The status report of the police had also pointed out that in the record obtained from the Indian Audit and Accounts Department, her name was different from what she had mentioned and there was a gap of three years in the birth date revealed by her and that in the records.