On Thursday, a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Ranchi pronounced the quantum of punishment to Indian athlete Tara Shahdeo’s estranged husband Raqibul Hasan Khan, alias Ranhjit Kohil after hearing arguments from both the sides. While he was sentenced to life imprisonment, his mother Kausar Rani was jailed for 10 years. The development comes six years after the agency filed a chargesheet against the accused by the national shooter for forcing her to convert her religion to Islam after her marriage.
After the verdict, Shahdeo went on to thank the court and the CBI for serving her justice. Quoted by Hindustan Times, she added, “People who do this would be afraid to not treat someone like this... When my fight started, it was labelled as domestic violence. But my efforts were that this should not happen with any girl. People were hesitant to speak that word. After this judgement, they would come up against it openly.”
#WATCH | Ranchi, Jharkhand: National Shooter Tara Shahdeo says, "I want to thank the court and the CBI who served me justice. This justice is not just for me, every daughter in the country will gain trust that whoever does this to them will be punished. People who do this would… pic.twitter.com/zBpgxOWocZ
— ANI (@ANI) October 5, 2023
For those who don’t know, in 2017 the CBI has filed a chargesheet against the accused for allegedly pressuring Tara into converting her religion. It was in August when a joint operation was conducted by the Ranchi police and the special cell of the Delhi police. It had led to the arrest of Khan, who was accused of deceiving her into marriage and forcing her to convert to Islam. The accused and his mother then fled from their home after the FIR was filed against them, at the Hindpiri police station in Ranchi.
According to reports by India.com, the athlete claimed that she discovered her husband’s real name was Raqibul Hasan Khan. In her complaint, she stated that she had been subjected to over a month of torture. He was charged under various sections related to violence against women, including sections 498A (dowry) and 295A that deals with “deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings of a class by insulting its religious beliefs,” under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
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