Palanpur (Gujarat): The police booked five persons and arrested two of them on Monday on the charges of abetment to suicide by a Hindu man from Banaskantha district after being depressed over his wife and two children converting to Islam and living separately from him. The police registered a case against Sohel Sheikh and four other family members on the charge of suicide abetment by allegedly "brainwashing" Haresh Solanki's wife and children to convert to Islam, according to sources in the police department.
Two of the accused were arrested on Monday, an official from Palanpur (East) police station said. Solanki, hailing from Malgadh village in Deesa taluka of Banaskantha, allegedly consumed poison to end his life. He is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Palanpur town and his condition is stated to be critical, police said.
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According to the FIR, Solanki, in his suicide note purportedly left by him said the Sheikh's family compelled him to take the extreme step. Solanki's brother Rajesh had lodged a complaint with the police alleging that the accused "brainwashed" Solanki's family members to convert to Islam. The Sheik's family was charged with making Solanki's wife and children give a statement on a habeas corpus plea in the Gujarat High Court that they had converted out of their own will.
It all began after Solanki's daughter initially came in contact with Aijaz Sheikh in her college. When her family members objected to their friendship, she insisted on living with him. Later, her mother and brother also supported her and the three of them went on to offer 'namaz' at home, according to the complaint.
After some members of their joint family objected, Solanki's wife, daughter and son left the house and started living separately with the Sheikh family's support. However, they later became untraceable. When Solanki confronted the Sheikh family and sought to know the whereabouts of his wife and children, they demanded Rs 25 lakh to reunite him with them, the complaint alleged.
They allegedly said Solanki will be able to meet and live with his family if he also converts to Islam, said the complaint. Based on the complaint, a case was registered against five members of the Sheikh family under Indian Penal Code Sections 306 (abetment of suicide), 384 (extortion) and 506 (criminal intimidation), the police official said, adding that two of the accused have been arrested.
