Bihar: Man falsely claims wife, daughter ‘forced to convert’

Begusarai: A resident of Bihar’s Begusarai district has accused his neighbours, belonging to another religious community, of kidnapping his wife and married daughter and, after exploiting them sexually, putting pressure on them to convert, a claim debunked by the police.

The matter pertains to Singhaura police station area of the district in Bihar where Subodh Sah, a rickshaw puller, has alleged that three of his neighbours had been raping his wife and daughter for some time. He claimed that he could not protest out of fear that this would put him at risk in the locality which is dominated by members of their religious community.

On July 25, an application was moved before the local court by Sah, through his advocate Vishwambhar Jha, requesting that the Bihar police by directed to lodge an FIR based on the complainant’s submission.

“It is my client’s contention that the three accused used to visit his home, often in an inebriated condition, and rape his wife and married daughter, whom they kidnapped recently. My client has sought intervention from the court that the police is not taking cognizance of his complaint,” Jha told reporters in Bihar

The Bihar court has issued notice to the SHO of the police station concerned for further action. The religious conversion angle does not find mentioned in my petition since Subodh Sah and his father told me about this after I had filed my petition, Jha said.

However, Begusarai Superintendent of Police in Bihar, Yogendra Kumar said the matter has been investigated thoroughly and the wife and the daughter, far from being in captivity, had an altogether different story to tell.

The wife of Subodh Sah has lodged a complaint with the Mahila Thana in Bihar alleging that her daughter was married off to a mentally retarded person while she was still a minor. As the marriage did not work well, the daughter returned to live with her parents, the SP said.

After Subodh Sah and his father began putting pressure on the minor girl to return to his husband’s place, the mother-daughter duo started living in a separate house. The father-son duo would often barge into the house and beat up the women. Three of the neighbours used to intervene, the SP from Bihar added.

Apparently, Sah got the wind of the police complaint lodged by his wife and came out with a fabricated story to save himself, Kumar said. The case will be investigated from all angles and action will be taken in accordance with law, added the SP.