Love Jihad: Bengaluru Police arrest Bilal Rafeeq for hiding his identity and forcing a Hindu girl to convert to Islam

BENGALURU: The growing menace of ‘Love Jihad’ has resurfaced in India’s technology hub, Bangalore, where individuals from different states and countries are converging. A disturbing case of exploitation and coercion on the pretext of love has come to light, leading to the arrest of Bilal Rafiq, a resident of Kerala, by the Govindpur police. Bilal, who falsely claimed to be in the navy, is accused of manipulating a Hindu woman from Chhattisgarh for sexual exploitation, promising marriage but later pressuring her to convert to Islam.

The case involves a young woman, originally from Chhattisgarh, who became romantically involved with Bilal after they met on Instagram in 2021. Bilal posed as a high-ranking officer in the merchant navy and gained her trust and affection. Their relationship developed quickly and under his influence the woman moved to Bangalore in search of work. In 2022, she found a job as a nurse in a private hospital and during this period she maintained her relationship with Bilal.

However, the relationship soon took a darker turn. Bilal allegedly manipulated the woman into multiple sexual encounters, causing her to become pregnant twice. Each time he pressured her to terminate the pregnancies, citing different reasons. Most notably, he convinced her that they could not have children before marriage. The young woman, although hesitantly, complied with his demands.

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She recently became pregnant for the third time. This time she refused to abort the baby and demanded that Bilal marry her. Bilal initially agreed, but on the condition that she would have to convert to Islam. When she refused, he further delayed the marriage. According to the woman’s complaint, Bilal continued to exploit her trust by demanding Rs 1 lakh and an expensive phone on the pretext of making marriage arrangements.

The woman, who did not want to convert, applied for marriage under the Special Marriage Act, a law that allows interfaith marriages without conversion. When Bilal kept postponing the wedding and refused to marry her unless she converted, the woman filed a police complaint at Govindpura station. Bilal was subsequently arrested based on her complaint, and further investigations are underway.

The case has revived the Love Jihad debate in Karnataka, highlighting the alleged use of romantic relationships to manipulate women into religious conversion. The term ‘Love Jihad’ refers to a conspiracy theory that suggests Muslim men target women from other religious communities for conversion through deceptive means, including false promises of love and marriage.

This incident adds to a growing list of cases being reported across the state. While many of these allegations are debated, underlying concerns of religious manipulation and exploitation of vulnerable women remain. Community leaders, activists and politicians have expressed concern over the recurring incidents of coercion under the guise of romantic relationships, calling for stricter enforcement of laws to protect vulnerable individuals, especially women.

The Karnataka government has dealt with similar cases with increased scrutiny, especially as public outrage over incidents labeled as ‘Love Jihad’ grows. Authorities are investigating Bilal’s background and suspect a broader network is involved in similar cases of fraud and religious coercion.