The Syro-Malabar Church on Wednesday backed the demand for a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the suicide of a woman who was allegedly the victim of forced conversion.
This comes after the victim's mother wrote a letter to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and DGP Ravada A Chandrasekhar. Union Minister of State George Kurian told the woman's family that there are limitations on considering an NIA investigation at present, according to Manorama News. Meanwhile, the woman's brother revealed that Union Minister Suresh Gopi has assured him that their complaint would be handed over to the DGP on August 14.
The investigation team is set to arrest the parents of accused Rameez Mohammad, 24. He was taken into custody on August 11, but no charges were slapped on him. Police are also looking to arrest a friend of Rameez mentioned in the suicide note.
The 23-year-old victim, a second-year TTC student, was found hanging in her bedroom on Saturday, following which her relatives rushed her to a hospital in Kothamangalam. She was declared dead on arrival around 2.43 pm, as per the FIR. The woman's funeral was held on Sunday following post mortem.
A suicide note recovered from the bed revealed that she suffered harassment from Rameez who forced her to convert to Islam. The woman was reportedly in a relationship with Rameez, whom she agreed to marry. She had also agreed to change her religion initially. However, she refused to convert after Rameez was allegedly caught in a lodge for prostitution. She insisted on a registered marriage and declined to convert. Following this, the accused allegedly brought her to his home and beat her up for refusing to convert. This allegedly happened in the presence of Rameez's parents and a friend, according to local reports.
Police will file further charges based on the data recovered from the victim's phone.