Promising marriage, man sexually assaults woman; arrested in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: A 30-year-old Kerala man has been arrested by the Govindpura police for allegedly cheating a woman on the pretext of marrying her.

Bilal Rafeeq from Kozhikode is accused of sexually assaulting the woman and forcing her to undergo an abortion. The police said Rafeeq worked as a mechanic in the merchant navy.

The woman, a native of Chhattisgarh and working as a nurse with a Bengaluru hospital, said she met Rafeeq via Instagram in 2021. The duo began speaking on the phone and soon fell in love, the FIR stated.

The woman said despite her objections, the two had sexual intercourse and she became pregnant twice in 2022 and 2023. She was forced to abort the foetus on both occasions. She further accused Rafeeq of forcibly having intercourse with her several times when she stayed at a PG accommodation from February to April 2024. She became pregnant for the third time, the FIR noted.

The woman said her parents gave cash and valuables to Rafeeq in August at the behest of his parents as both the families agreed to get them married. However, she said Rafeeq’s parents abused her in September due to her caste, refusing the marriage proposal and threatening her.

A case has been registered under sections of the IPC and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.