Tura, Nov 2: A woman from Mandagre village under Selsella Police Outpost in West Garo Hills has accused a man of kidnapping, rape, physical and emotional abuse and forced religious conversion.
In her FIR addressed to the Officer-in-Charge of Selsella Police Outpost, Balsera Ch. Marak alleged that her ordeal began on December 19, 2024, when she visited Rajabala Bazar to repair her damaged mobile phone. It was there that she first met Rofiqul Islam, who, she claimed, later began harassing her persistently through phone calls and threats.
“I began receiving multiple calls from an unknown number belonging to one Rofiqul Islam, a non-Garo person from Rajabala, who continuously harassed me by calling from various numbers even after I blocked him,” her FIR reads.
“He threatened to kill my parents if I ignored or failed to answer his calls. Out of fear for my family’s safety, I was compelled to obey his instructions”, she added.
The situation turned violent on January 1, when Islam allegedly coerced her into meeting him at Mandagre Main Road. “When I arrived, Rofiqul Islam, along with one of his friends, came in a white vehicle, forcibly grabbed my hand, dragged me inside the car and threatened to kill me if I raised any alarm,” she wrote.
The victim claimed she was then taken to Rajabala, where she was “forcibly confined” and “raped against my will.” She further alleged that Islam “physically assaulted me whenever I tried to contact my parents or attempted to escape.”
According to the FIR, on January 6, the accused took her to Mankachar, Assam, where she was “forcefully converted from Christianity to Islam, changing my name from Balsera Ch. Marak to Taniya Begum, and compelled me to enter into a court marriage at Hat Singimari Court (Assam) against my will. Upon refusal, he brutally assaulted me.”
After being confined for about a week, she was brought back to Rajabala, where the abuse continued. “I was not allowed to contact my family or go outside,” she stated. In August, following a lynching incident in Rajabala involving the accused, she escaped and filed a complaint at the Tura Women Police Station, but said she was “forced to withdraw the complaint due to his threats to kill me and my family if he was arrested.”
Even after returning to her family, the threats reportedly continued. “Rofiqul Islam continued to threaten my family over phone calls and WhatsApp video calls, even showing a pistol to intimidate us,” she stated. In October 2025, he allegedly kidnapped her younger brother from Rajabala Bazar, made him intoxicated, and used him to compel her return.
Finally, on October 22, she managed to escape again. “I decided not to bow down to his continuous blackmail and threats. I have suffered immense mental trauma, physical torture, repeated sexual assault, illegal confinement, kidnapping, emotional blackmail and forced religious conversion,” she said.
The victim has lodged the FIR on November 1, at the Selsella Police Outpost under West Garo Hills District.
