The family of a 23-year-old woman from Kothamangalam in Kerala, who committed suicide, alleging sexual abuse and forced religious conversion by her boyfriend on the promise of marriage, has sought an NIA probe into the incident.
The Kothamangalam police on Monday detained Rameez Mohammad for alleged abetment of suicide of his partner, Sona Eldhose. He and his family have been accused of harassing the deceased to convert her before marriage.
The woman’s mother has written to the chief minister and the state police chief, demanding an NIA probe into the suicide of her daughter. She stated in the letter that her daughter committed suicide due to an attempt to convert her to Islam. The family also accused the police of registering a case under weak sections. It has stated that they suspect the involvement of religious extremist terrorist organizations in the attempts of forced conversion.
Her mother points out in the letter that their daughter met Rameez while studying in a college and was later subjected to physical torture, detention, and mental torture on the pretext of a marriage promise. The girl was told to convert if she wanted to get married and live in the family house of the accused.
The family points out in the letter that the girl’s suicide note clearly states that she was locked in a room at Rameez’s house in Panayikulam, Aluva, and that he, his family, and many others forced her to convert and tortured her mentally and physically.
Sona Eldhose, a resident of Puthupady in Kothamangalam and a TTC student at an institute in Muvattupuzha, was found dead at her residence at around 2 pm on Saturday. Initially, the Kothamangalam Police registered a case of unnatural death. However, the police stumbled upon a suicide note, reportedly written by the deceased during the preparation of mahazar on Sunday.
The suicide note reportedly revealed that the deceased was allegedly harassed to undergo religious conversion by Rameez and his family. Sona was also allegedly physically assaulted, according to the suicide note.
Meanwhile, a 10-member team has been appointed to investigate the suicide of Sona. The investigation will be led by the Muvattupuzha DySP. The police have reportedly concluded that the young woman committed suicide due to severe neglect from her boyfriend Ramees after she refused to convert to Islam.
The BJP has claimed that the death of the 23-year-old woman is a case of “love jihad”. BJP Kerala vice-president Shone George alleged that similar incidents are occurring across Kerala and urged Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to order an impartial investigation into the incident.