A Congress councillor from Indore has been booked in connection with an alleged religious conversion case after two men, arrested in separate sexual assault cases, claimed that they were “paid by councillor Anwar Qadri to befriend and marry Hindu women”, a police officer said on Monday.
Indore Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rajesh Dandotiya told The Hindu that two separate FIRs had been registered by two women against two individuals — Sahil Sheikh and Altaf Shah — accusing them of rape on the pretext of marriage. The two accused were arrested on Sunday.
“Soon after, a video of the two men revealing the involvement of Anwar Qadri went viral. The video is about two-three months old but they have made the same claims in police interrogation. Based on their statements, we have added his [Mr. Qadri’s] name in both FIRs,” Mr. Dandotiya said.
The police officer said that while the men were initially booked under rape charges, sections related to criminal conspiracy and provisions of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021, were subsequently invoked. Mr. Qadri has now been named as an accused.
“Teams are constantly working to trace him and we will arrest him soon,” he added.
