A week after a 30-year-old woman in Ghaziabad committed suicide by self-immolation at her house on December 11, police have arrested her boyfriend.
The Adrika’s father had filed a complaint against Faraz Akhtar, a resident of Shahdara in Delhi and his family at the City Kotwali police station.
Adrika lived in the GT Road Kotwali police station area of Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh.
In the FIR, Adrika’s ailing father said on November 14 he noticed that his daughter was practising the ways of a different religion in her room.
“This led me into a severe state of depression, and I was hospitalised… I got discharged on November 17, and on November 24, Faraz and his family members met me and my daughter at a prominent hotel in Noida. There, he again reiterated his commitment to marry her and asked us not to disclose this to anyone… Still, he kept on delaying the wedding. Later, my daughter disclosed the harassment and physical exploitation by him and also that he wanted to grab our property,” the victim’s father said in the FIR.
Police investigation revealed a disturbing pattern of abuse. Akhtar, under the guise of love, allegedly deceived the woman, exploiting her physically, mentally and financially. He reportedly coerced her to convert to Islam and also took away Rs 6.55 lakh from her.
"The investigation, including examining chats and recorded conversations, revealed that Akhtar, under the pretext of love, coerced her to convert to Islam. He provided her with religious texts and encouraged her to adopt Islamic customs," said a senior police official.
The police said the medical documents indicated that the woman got pregnant and the suspect allegedly forced her to undergo an abortion.
On the day of the incident, the woman made about 120 calls to Faraz but he did not respond. Before taking her own life, she sent a voice message to him indicating her intention to commit suicide.
The police arrested Faraz under relevant sections of the law, including those related to unlawful religious conversion.
