'Lured' by Muslim man for job, 'raped' by his friend in Haridwar, 'forced' in prostitution, woman found lying on street

A 30-year-old woman from Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad who went missing last month was found on the streets of Uttarakhand’s Haridwar in a deplorable state. She was allegedly raped after being sedated, police said.

Two men – Mohammed Shakib and Nadeem – both in their 20s, have been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting the woman on the pretext of getting her a job.

The accused duo is residents of Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar.

The Gangnahar police found the woman on the streets of Haridwar on 5 August, Haridwar senior superintendent of police (SSP) Ajai Singh said. She was admitted to the Roorkee civil hospital as she was unwell.

Raped & forced to prostitution

Singh said the woman revealed about the ill-treatment she met. The victim “complained against one Shakib for raping her and forcing her into prostitution and wife Ayesha for her involvement in the crime,” the cop said.

The police said, “We were counselling her. After gathering information about her family and background, a team was dispatched to Ghaziabad and her husband came over.”

How did she reach Haridwar?

Police said that during the course of the investigation, it was revealed that the woman reached Haridwar on 7 July along with accused Nadeem in search of work.

“Upon arriving here, Nadeem introduced him to Mohammed Shakib who sexually assaulted and forced her into prostitution by giving her sedatives,” he said.

Case of human trafficking

The SSP denied initial reports that the woman came to Haridwar as part of the Kanwar pilgrimage. He said, “It was a human trafficking network. All other accused in the network will be arrested.”

A FIR has been registered against Mohammed Shakib and his wife Ayesha alias Khushi at Gangnahar under sections 376 (rape), and 328 (causing hurt by means of poison, with intent to commit an offence) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Relevant sections of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act in the FIR were added later by the police.

The cops are searching for Ayesha who is still on run.