Ghaziabad woman’s suicide: ‘Lover’ held

Ghaziabad: A week after a 30-year-old woman in Ghaziabad ended her life by self-immolation at her residence on December 11, police have arrested the accused. The parents of the woman, Adrika, had filed a complaint against Faraz Akhtar, a resident of Shahdara in Delhi and his family members at the City Kotwali po-lice station. Adrika lived in the GT Road Kotwali police station area of Gha-ziabad in Uttar Pradesh. Police investigation revealed a disturbing pattern of abuse. Akhtar, under the guise of love, allegedly deceived the woman, exploiting her physically, mental-ly and financially. He reportedly coerced her to convert to Islam and pressured her for a substantial sum of money.

“The investigation, including examining chats and recorded conversations, re-vealed that Faraz Akhtar, under the pretext of love, coerced her to convert to Islam. He provided her with religious texts and encouraged her to adopt Islam-ic customs,” said Rajesh Kumar, Officiating Additional Commissioner of Police. “He also exploited her financially, demanding and receiving approximately Rs 6.55 lakh.” On the day of the incident, the woman made numerous calls to Akhtar but he did not respond. Before taking her own life, she sent a voice message to him indicating her intention to commit suicide. Based on these findings, the police arrested Akhtar on Wednesday under relevant sections of the law, including those related to unlawful religious conversion.