Mumbai man booked over woman’s conversion to Islam before marriage

She alleges Khan used promises of marriage and financial support to persuade her daughter to convert. Police are recording the woman’s statement.

The Meghwadi police registered a case against a man for unlawful religious conversion through force, fraud, undue influence, allurement or marriage-related deception, invoking Section 9(1) of the Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act, 2026. The enactment came into force on August 28, 2026.

The certificate stated that she married Faiz in a Bandra court. When the police contacted her, she told them that she had married Faiz of her own free will. (Representational/HT Photo)

In the FIR, the mother of a 22-year-old woman, Shravani, alleged that the accused, Faiz Akbar Khan, lured her daughter with the promise of marriage and forced her to convert to Islam. She also alleged that the accused promised her daughter financial assistance and support for her business after the conversion.

The complainant, Nilesha Rane, 50, works as a domestic helper in Goregaon and lives with her 26-year-old son in Virar East. Her daughter completed a beauty parlour course in 2023 and takes bridal makeup assignments.

According to the complaint, Shravani came into contact with Faiz, who resided in Jogeshwari East, in 2022. Her father forbade her to meet the accused, but after he passed away, she grew closer to Faiz. Her mother alleged that Faiz told Shravani he would marry her only if she accepted his religion.

On October 18, Shravani told her mother that she had received a bridal makeup assignment and left home in the morning. However, she did not return home and stopped answering her mother’s calls. Subsequently, Rane lodged a missing complaint at the Virar police station, following which the police registered a case.

On October 20, Shravani sent her mother a marriage certificate on WhatsApp. The certificate stated that she married Faiz in a Bandra court. When the police contacted her, she told them that she had married Faiz of her own free will.

On October 24, Faiz sent a wedding invitation card to Shravani’s mother on WhatsApp; her name was printed as ‘Aayesha’ on it. According to the complaint, the couple subsequently had a social marriage in Jogeshwari East on November 6. Her mother alleged that Faiz had converted her daughter to Islam.

Based on the complaint, the Meghwadi police registered an FIR against Faiz on November 7 under the Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act, 2026. The case was transferred to Meghwadi from Virar police station. The police are now in the process of recording Shravani’s statement before taking action.