Minor girl allegedly taken to Gujarat dargah and pressured to convert; three arrested

Three persons, including a dargah cleric, have been arrested in Gujarat's Mehsana district for allegedly luring a minor girl to convert to Islam. Police said the girl, who went missing on October 24, was traced and rescued after two days

Kodinar (Gujarat): Three persons were arrested for allegedly luring a minor girl into converting to Islam after taking her to a dargah in Unava village of Gujarat’s Mehsana district, police said on Friday.

A Kodinar police station official identified the arrested persons as Abdul Sandhi, a resident of Kodinar in Gir Somnath district, and Sakir Pathan and Asiq Qawali, both residents of Unava village in Mehsana district. Another person named in the FIR is yet to be arrested, he added.

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The minor went missing on October 24. Her mother subsequently lodged a complaint, following which the police launched a search operation, he said.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), the minor was allegedly taken to Unava by Pathan at the instance of Sandhi, who is the uncle of the other girl accompanying her to the dargah.

“The two girls were allegedly introduced to cleric Asif Qawali at the dargah in Unava. He persuaded the minor to renounce Hinduism and embrace Islam. Qawali made her wear a burqa, recite Islamic prayers and offer namaz. He also reportedly gave her a new Islamic name,” the official said, citing the FIR.

The two girls stayed at the dargah for two days before a Kodinar police team traced and rescued them with the help of technical surveillance and CCTV footage, the official said. He added that the cleric was allegedly planning the minor’s marriage to Sakir Pathan.

A case was registered under Sections 137(2) (punishment for kidnapping) and 87 (abducting or inducing a woman to compel her to marry or engage in illicit intercourse) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Relevant provisions of the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act have also been invoked, the official said.

Police said further investigation was underway.