The case is likely to come up for hearing on November 13 in Kerala High Court
A 25-year-old woman has filed a petition in the Kerala High Court for her marriage to be nullified, alleging she was sexually exploited, coerced into a sexual relationship and blackmailed with recorded videos, after which she was forcefully converted into becoming a Muslim and taken to Saudi Arabia for sex slavery.
In her petition, the woman says, "After reaching Saudi Arabia, the 9th respondent showed his real colour. He was considering the petitioner as sex slave. He has other plans to go to Syria, and informed to the petitioner that within a few days they will shift to Syria and his plan was to sell the petitioner to the ISIS terrorists. He also forced her to attend Islamic classes and watch videos of Zakir Naik."
"1st week of October the 9th respondent was planning to go to Syria. On 3rd Oct-2017 she called her parents through internet and pleaded to rescue her. On 4th October 2017 she escaped with the help of her father and Air ticket was taken by Father of the petitioner and sent scanned copy through WhatsApp and somehow the petitioner reached Ahmadabad on 5th Oct 2017," the petition adds.
The woman, a Malyali, was born and brought up in Gujarat. She met the man while studying at a private institute in Bengaluru. The case is likely to come up for hearing on November 13 in Kerala High Court.
The petitioner has also made allegations that the forced conversion and marriage has links with the fundamentalist organisation Popular Front of India.
" ...the 9th respondent managed to make her Adadhar card with new name. The marriage officer, Hebbal colluded with the 9th respondent to forge the address of the writ petitioner without her knowledge... It can be seen that the witnesses in the Ext.P2 forged marriage Certificates are popular front activist, from Kannur," the petition says.
This petition comes at a time when NIA has claimed that they have come across as least 90 cases of forced conversions in Kerala. 24-year-old Hadiya, who was born Akhila, has been under house arrest after her marriage to Sheffin Jahan was annulled last year by the High Court.
Sheffin has now petitioned in the Supreme Court, and Hadiya has been ordered to be presented before the court on November 27. Hadiya had told the High Court earlier that she had converted on her own will while studying in college and had married Sheffin much later, after she met him on an online matrimonial site last year.