A 25-year-old nurse from Punjab’s Ferozepur was allegedly held hostage and raped multiple times by a truck driver for several days in a village in Nuh district, police said on Sunday.
The nurse alleged that the accused pressured her to convert to Islam by promising to marry her. When she refused, he threatened to kill her and make an objectionable video of her viral on social media, they added.
The victim somehow escaped on Saturday night and went to the Ferozpur Jhirka city police station. After registering an FIR, police arrested the accused truck driver, Zaheer, 20, SHO Kuldeep Singh said. The accused, a resident of Dhondh village in Nuh district, was produced in a Nuh court on Sunday and sent into judicial custody, he said.
According to the police, the victim stated in her complaint that she met Zaheer on social media about a year ago. As their conversation progressed, the accused lured her into believing he was married. After this, the accused lured her to a hotel on the pretext of hosting a party, where he forcibly raped her and filmed an obscene video. He continued to blackmail her by threatening to make the video viral. He raped her multiple times and also extorted around ₹1.5 lakh, she added.
“On March 20, the accused took me to his village, where I was held captive and raped. During this time, he pressured me to convert to Islam. When I resisted, I was beaten and threatened with death,” she told police. On Saturday night, she somehow escaped from the clutches of the accused and reached the Ferozpur Jhirka police station, the victim said in her complaint.
{{/usCountry}}“On March 20, the accused took me to his village, where I was held captive and raped. During this time, he pressured me to convert to Islam. When I resisted, I was beaten and threatened with death,” she told police. On Saturday night, she somehow escaped from the clutches of the accused and reached the Ferozpur Jhirka police station, the victim said in her complaint.
{{/usCountry}}Following the complaint, a case has been registered against the accused under various sections, including rape, blackmail, and under the Haryana Prevention of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2022, at the Ferozpur Jhirka police station, police said. The victim returned home with her family, and a further probe is underway,” the SHO said.