Jaipur woman accuses gym trainer of cheating, abuse, forced conversion

BJP MLA Balmukund Acharya reached the Jaipur Police Commissionerate accompanied by a woman, who he alleged was converted, tortured and harassed by a man from a different community, who worked as a gym trainer in the city.

In Short

• BJP MLA Balmukund said gym trainers were luring women into relationships
• Rajasthan Congress chief accused BJP MLA of playing divisive politics
• Top police official said the complaint by the woman would be investigated

A woman in Jaipur accused a gym trainer of physically abusing her, cheating her financially, and coercing her into religious conversion after marriage. While the police have taken cognisance of the case, the incident has ignited a political tug of war between the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress.

On Monday, BJP MLA Balmukund Acharya reached the Jaipur Police Commissionerate accompanied by a woman, who he alleged was converted, tortured and harassed by a man from a different community, who worked as a gym trainer in the city.

According to the woman's complaint, she arrived in Jaipur from Mumbai three years ago. She met the accused who she claimed hid his real name and married her.

She also alleged that the man hid his previous marriage from her, converted her to his religion, took Rs 15 lakh, and subjected her to physical abuse.

"I was cheated by the man who never told me that he was already married. He used to beat me up and took Rs 15 lakh," the woman said. "He left me and my 2.5-year-old daughter alone."

"Cognisance has been taken of the woman's complaint. We will investigate the matter," said Kunwar Rashtradeep, Additional Commissioner of Police, Jaipur.

BJP MLA Balmukund Acharya, who accompanied the woman, called it a case of "love jihad" and claimed that several gym trainers in Jaipur were involved in the said act.

He called the woman a "gullible young girl" who was tricked by the accused into marrying her, after which he took her money and assaulted her.

Notably, "love jihad" is a term, primarily used by some right-wing groups in India, referring to an alleged conspiracy where Muslim men target women from other religions, particularly Hindus, to marry them and convert them to Islam.

The BJP MLA said he would perform "shudhikaran" (purification ritual) on the woman, who he said had been forced to convert.

He added that the woman would undergo a purification process involving drinking gaumutra (cow urine) or charanamrit (holy concoction) to ensure her gharwapsi (re-conversion).

Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra slammed Balmukund Acharya of trying to divide people on religious lines.

"The BJP MLA from Hawa Mahal has been trying to indulge in polarisation along religious lines as the BJP has nothing to show in terms of work," Dotasra said.