Gurgaon: A local court in the city has dismissed the bail application of an accused in a case involving allegations of forced religious conversion, assault and fraud, underscoring the seriousness of the charges against him. The order was issued by Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Shivani Rana, who held that the allegations were grave and the investigation remains at a preliminary stage, making bail inappropriate at this point.
The case stems from a complaint filed by a 22-year-old woman in Jan this year at Sector 14 police station, alleging she was deceived into marriage by a man who used a false identity and subsequently subjected her to assault and coercion, including attempts to forcefully convert her to his religion.The accused, identified as 35-year-old Aarif alias “Aarav”, was arrested by the Gurgaon police on January 28 after the woman lodged a detailed complaint.Counsel for the woman, Manish Shandilya, argued before the court that the gravity of the offences and risk of interference with evidence justified continued judicial custody for the accused. “Police found identity cards of the accused in different names with different faiths,” said Shandilya. In her bail order on February 3, JMFC Shivani Rana observed that the FIR and supporting documents revealed “serious acts of deception, physical harm and conspiracy” that cannot be lightly treated at this stage.According to the woman’s written statement and preliminary investigation reports, a man named Tarif (34) initially approached the woman at her workplace in 2022 and later introduced her to Aarif under a fabricated identity. Tarif was also arrested on January 28. Aarif is accused of posing as a Hindu contractor named “Aarav,” gaining the woman’s trust, entering into a romantic relationship and solemnising a marriage in a temple. The complainant said she discovered she was pregnant, after which Aarif tried to convince her to abort the pregnancy. When she refused, she was assaulted. Following childbirth in early 2025, she came to know that Aarif was already married with three children. The woman also alleged ongoing threats, violence and pressure to convert to another religion by Aarif’s family members.
