Man fakes identity, weds online, held for rape

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

A young man who allegedly posed as the son of a principal of a reputed college and falsely claimed to belong to a wealthy family married a 21-year-old woman through a video call from Dubai and later sexually exploited her has been arrested by Jinsi police on charges of rape.

The accused, identified as Shaikh Abdul Rehman, reportedly met the woman, a computer science student, during a training programme. He allegedly projected himself as highly educated and claimed that his father was the principal of a well-known college, offering to secure her a job there. Gradually winning her trust and that of her family, he promised marriage. In July and August, he allegedly established physical relations with her at various locations.

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Online marriage from Dubai

A few days later, Abdul Rehman left for Dubai but remained in contact with the woman. He allegedly insisted on solemnising the marriage online and performed the ceremony over a video call. After returning to the city in November, he again established physical relations with her. On the pretext of marriage, he also took her to Hyderabad, where he allegedly subjected her to repeated sexual assault. Upon returning to the city, his family reportedly refused to accept the woman. Meanwhile, when her family learned about the marriage, they too declined to take her back home.

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Fabricated legal trouble

The accused allegedly later claimed that he was facing charges in a financial fraud case and that he was likely to be arrested, after which he stopped contacting her. In January, he re-established contact, claiming he had secured bail, and again allegedly assaulted her. Fed up with his actions, the woman approached Jinsi police and lodged a complaint of rape. The accused has since been arrested.