Pune: Muslim moneylender rapes wife of Hindu borrower in his presence at knifepoint, videographs act that goes viral

In a shocking incident reported from Pune, a married Hindu woman has allegedly been raped by a Muslim moneylender named Imtiyaz Haseen Sheikh in the presence of her husband who had failed to return a borrowed sum as promised.

Activist and social worker Shefali Vadiya has tweeted, “Imtiaz Shaikh, a private moneylender, r@ped a married woman right in front of her husband, recorded the heinous act and shared the video on social media as per this report. He did this because the husband of the woman had borrowed money from him and couldn’t pay it back. Now waiting for @zoo_bear @dhanyarajendran @anusharavi10 and @kavashivani to call the heinous r@pe a ‘fun prank’ because the perp is peaceful!”

The moneylender – who is sure to not have been registered as a moneylending bank as per RBI rules – and may have been practicing loansharking illegally – had called the husband and wife to meet him and being scared out of their wits by the threats, the couple arrived at the loan shark’s place.

The husband of the victim has alleged that he was held back by holding a knife to his neck and the wife was raped right in front of him by Imtiyaz Haseen Sheikh while his aides shot a video of the heinous and violent incident.

The video was also posted on social media sites so as to shame the man and as a form of revenge where it has since gone viral.

The complaint against Imtiyaz Shaikh was registered at Hadapsar Police Station and he has since been arrested. Now the Maharashtra State Commission for Women has taken cognisance of the shameful incident.

The Women’s Commission tweet does not mention the name of the accused though the same is in the public domain. It merely states that through the media they are in the know of the shocking case of a woman being raped in front of her husband by a private money lender. The Commission adds a moral lecture on the manner in which women are unfairly treated or attacked to settle personal scores or enmities and that the police should take necessary action.

This incident of targeting Hindu women is not an isolated one. There has been much furore over the recent case from Udupi district of the Congress-rule Karnataka state where three Muslim students filmed their Hindu women classmates without their consent in various intimate and private moments such as bathing, using the washroom, etc. They also allegedly shared the videos and photos on their WhatsApp group but when caught were let off easily by authorities. After a nationwide uproar, a police case against the three women – Alfiya, Aleema, and Shabnaaz – has been filed under serious charges including 509 (insulting modesty of a woman), 204 (destruction of evidence), 175 (omission to produce a document to public servant), 34 (acts by several persons with common intention) and Section 66 (e) (violation of privacy) of IT Act.

Also, in the Camp area of Pune, a 20-year-old girl from Mukundnagar was molested by a 24-year-old man named Kaif Kalimmulla (resident of Juna Bazar Khadki) from a shop where the girl had bought a T-shirt and wanted to try it on. The incident took place on Thursday, July 20 at Ashok Vijay Complex near Naaz Chowk on Mahatma Gandhi Road during broad daylight. The youth violated her modesty blatantly by groping her and touching her inappropriately as she tried to check if the T-shirt was the right fit or not.