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IAF officer’s wife raped, forced to convert: Does Maharashtra have an anti-conversion law?

A 24-year-old woman, whose husband serves in the IAF, has accused her former classmate, Ayyaz Taj Madare and two other men of drugging, raping and blackmailing her over several months. She was allegedly forced to undergo a religious conversion ceremony in Maharashtra's Nagpur

The 24-year-old, who is the wife of an IAF officer, claimed that she was later declared converted, and an attempt was made to rape her thereafter. Image courtesy: X

FP Explainers|Jun 17, 2026, 15:20:10 IST

An alleged Nagpur shocker conversion case has sparked a row across Maharashtra. In a now-viral video, the 24-year-old woman and wife of an Indian Air Force (IAF) officer is seen frantically crying and pleading “Chhodo mujhe (let me go)."

In the same clip, her former classmate, Ayyaz Taj Madare (26), is seen holding her hand firmly while chanting religious verses, in an attempt to allegedly forcefully convert her religion. The woman struggles to break free during the incident.

Watch the video here:

The 24-year-old claimed that she was later declared converted, and an attempt was made to rape her thereafter. The woman has further alleged that she was drugged and raped, blackmailed using obscene videos, coerced into converting her religion, and extorted of lakhs of rupees, according to an India Today report.

Drugged, raped, converted to Islam... How Nagpur conversion unfolded

The Nagpur conversion incident dates back to last year. It has come to light after the woman in the video informed her husband about the matter and lodged a police complaint on Saturday (June 13).

In February 2025, Madare contacted the wife of an IAF personnel in the guise of buying a plot. He called her to a hotel on Wardha Road, Nagpur, Maharashtra.

The woman alleged that she was served a juice, which was laced with an intoxicating substance. After consuming that, she felt unconscious, and in that state, Madare raped her. According to police, she further stated that Madare also recorded videos and photos of the act.

The complaint also notes that the accused used those recorded elements to blackmail her, repeatedly sexually exploited her and allegedly extorted Rs 3.09 lakh from her. According to the woman's allegations, she was pressured to convert to Islam and forced to undergo various activities in the name of religious rituals.

In May 2025, the 24-year-old woman was taken to Kalmeshwar in Nagpur by the accused. He introduced her to Ameen Sheikh and Hazrat Maulana. The trio then took her to a private, quiet location in Kalmeshwar, Nagpur, to conduct certain religious rituals.

There, a cleric identified as Hazrat Maulana (from Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh) performed a ritual, forcing her to recite the Kalma and say “qubool hai" against her will. The cleric then announced that she had converted to Islam and was " legally married" to Madare.

The victim further alleged that Madare often forced her to consume a liquid from a plastic bottle, chanted verses in Urdu, and blew on her face — claiming it was “hypnosis and black magic." All this was done before sexually assaulting her, according to an NDTV report.

After performing the rituals on her, the woman was informed that she had been married to Madare, and another attempt of rape was made thereafter. When her husband returned from duty after three days, the woman recounted the entire ordeal about the alleged incidents. After which, a complaint was registered at Sonegaon Police Station.

Police said that the survivor chose to remain silent out of fear as she was married, but eventually disclosed to her husband. Madare and Ameen Sheikh (30) have been arrested, while the manhunt is underway for the absconding third accused, Hazrat Maulana, a resident of Tamia in Madhya Pradesh, officials said.

Police have registered a case under charges including rape, extortion, attempted religious conversion, and provisions of the Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and Other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act. The court has sent the arrested accused to five days of police custody.

Does Maharashtra have an anti-conversion law?

While India has no federal law prohibiting forced religious conversion, individual states regulate it under their own Freedom of Religion Acts. Currently, 12 states across India have operational anti-conversion laws, including Maharashtra. The state passed the Maharashtra Freedom of Religion Act 2026 in March.

The key objective of these laws is to ban religious conversions carried out by force, misrepresentation, or allurement. The updated versions of these laws impose stricter penalties and modify established legal protocols.

In religious conversion, the definition of unlawful means when a conversion is done through allurement, such as promising free education, jobs, cash, or any kind of fraud or deceit.

If an individual wants to change their faith, and the priest performing those religious rituals must submit advance notice (usually 30 to 60 days) to the District Magistrate.

Basic violations under these laws generally carry prison terms ranging from one to five years. However, the penalties become significantly harsher if the person being converted is a minor, a woman, or a member of the Scheduled Castes (SC) or the Scheduled Tribes (ST), with punishments drastically increasing to 7 or 10 years, according to reports.