Posing as Hindu, Muslim man lures woman into divorce with fake marriage promise

A disturbing case of identity deception has come to light in Madhya Pradesh’s Ratlam district, where a man allegedly posed under a false religious identity to emotionally manipulate a woman into divorcing her husband, promising marriage that never materialised.

In an alleged case of love jihad, a Muslim man in Madhya Pradesh’s Ratlam, posing under a Hindu name, allegedly forced a woman to divorce her husband and live with him, and later threatened to kill her if she reported him to the police after his true identity was revealed.

A case has now been registered at the Industrial Area police station in Ratlam, in which the woman alleged in her complaint that the man, Imran – who went by the name Sonu – repeatedly asked her to leave her husband and promised to marry her once she was divorced.

On September 14, 2023, she and the accused started living together like husband and wife in a rented room near Sakshi Petrol Pump in the Nayagaon area. The accused told her they would marry once her divorce was finalised.

While living together, she overheard the accused talking to others on the phone and realised that Sonu was not Hindu but Muslim, and that his real name was Imran.

After Nayagaon, they moved into a rented flat in the Mhow Road area.

On November 8, 2024, her divorce was finalised. When she asked Imran to marry her, he refused and continued to avoid the issue, leading to tension between them.

A heated argument broke out on December 26, 2025, after which he allegedly began threatening her, saying he would kill her if she went to the police.

On the night of December 29, 2025, the woman approached the police, stating that the accused, Imran, had presented her as his wife in various places and had engaged in physical relations with her multiple times. Police registered a case against Imran under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

The case has once again drawn attention to the growing number of complaints nationwide involving false identity, emotional coercion and fraudulent marriage promises. Legal experts and social workers stress the need for greater awareness, verification of identity, and strict enforcement of laws to protect individuals from such exploitation. (The news report is reproduced from India Today Newsdesk)