Bengaluru: Girl alleges forced conversion for marriage, files police complaint

A Bengaluru girl filed a police complaint against her lover and his family, alleging sexual exploitation and forced conversion to Islam for marriage. The case has drawn political attention, with Hindu groups and BJP leaders demanding a thorough investigation

Bengaluru: On Thursday, a girl filed a police complaint against her lover and his family, who allegedly forced her to convert to Islam for marriage. The case was reported at the HSR Layout police station in Bengaluru, and a complaint has been registered against Mohammad Ishaq.

According to police, the victim and Mohammad Ishaq came into contact through Instagram on October 17, 2024. After interacting for some time, they entered into a relationship. On October 30, 2024, they met at a mall in the Thanisandra locality of Bengaluru. The accused promised the victim that he would speak to her parents and marry her.

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The victim in her complaint said that Ishaq booked a room in Dasarahalli and allegedly sexually exploited her. She stated that Ishaq repeatedly exploited her physically under the pretext of marriage. Meanwhile, she became suspicious of his behaviour and discovered that he had multiple affairs with other girls. When the victim insisted on marriage, he kept postponing it with excuses.

It was also revealed that the accused got engaged to a Muslim girl on September 14, 2025. When questioned about this, he allegedly threatened the victim, saying that if she contacted him again, she would be killed, and told her to move on. The victim further stated that she was verbally abused.

Police said the victim attempted suicide, after which Ishaq’s family contacted the victim, suggesting that the matter could be resolved amicably. However, Ishaq’s elder brother and brother-in-law reportedly told the girl that she must convert to Islam if she wanted to marry the accused.

They allegedly instructed her to learn to perform namaz (prayers) within 40 days and stated that only after conversion, marriage discussions would proceed. The case has taken a controversial turn, with Hindu organisations approaching the victim’s family, claiming it to be a case of “love jihad” and demanding justice. The police are treating the matter seriously and continue to investigate.

The BJP alleged that “love jihad” cases are on the rise in Karnataka due to the Congress-led government’s “appeasement politics”. Former Minister and BJP MLC C T Ravi had urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to comprehensively investigate all cases of love jihad, land jihad, and vote jihad.

Karnataka BJP President B Y Vijayendra had also stated that love jihad cases are increasing in the State, which is going into the Kerala model in this issue due to the “minority appeasement” politics of Siddaramaiah.

“Those who commit the crime against women and also anti-social elements have a feeling that the state government would support them due to the attitude of the government, which hesitates to arrest the accused even in cases like raising ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ slogans at Vidhana Soudha premises itself. This policy is troubling the law and order situation, and has created a fear among Hindu families and women,” Vijayendra stated.