Woman Accuses Father-In-Law of Rape, Husband of Triple Talaq in UP

A woman has accused her father-in-law of repeatedly raping her at gunpoint while her husband allegedly threatened her into silence and later pronounced triple talaq over the phone, prompting police in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich district to register a case against five members of her in-laws' family, officials said on Thursday. In her complaint, the woman, a resident of Lucknow, said she married a man from the Muslim Bagh area of Rupaideha town in 2023 as per Muslim customs. She alleged that while the initial years of marriage were peaceful, her father-in-law later began harassing her and sexually assaulting her when her husband was away for work. The accused threatened her with a country-made pistol and raped her on multiple occasions. She further claimed that when she informed her husband about the assaults, he threatened her and warned her against speaking about the matter. The woman said that the latest incident took place on January 24 this year. When she raised an alarm, her mother-in-law, brother-in-law and sister-in-law reached the spot and assaulted her instead of helping her. She later returned to her parental home, following which her husband pronounced talaq three times over the phone and ended the relationship. Based on the complaint, police have booked the husband, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law and sister-in-law under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act. Rupaideha SHO Ramesh Kumar Rawat said the husband, during questioning, told that the woman was involved in a relationship with another person and that the couple had been facing marital disputes over the issue. "The matter is under investigation. Further action will be taken based on the facts that emerge during the probe," Rawat said, adding that no arrests have been made so far.(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)