Vadodara: A case of alleged harassment and assault following an interfaith relationship has come to light in Vadodara, where a woman has accused a man of physically and mentally abusing her for several years after luring her into a relationship on the pretext of marriage. The accused, identified as Salman Salimkhan Pathan, has been booked after the victim approached Bapod Police Station with a complaint. Police said the matter is under investigation.

According to Bapod police, the woman, who had an interfaith court marriage with the accused in 2024, is currently under protection and counselling by the police’s SHE Team. Deputy Commissioner of Police Andrew Macwan said the case is being treated as a domestic dispute between husband and wife, and no complaint regarding forced religious conversion has been made.

In her complaint, the woman alleged that her husband had been mentally and physically harassing her for a long time. She stated that he frequently threatened her with a knife, chased her at different places in the city, including the Ekta Nagar area, and warned that he would kill her family if she tried to leave him. She told police that she had stayed with him mainly out of fear.

The woman said she married the accused through a court marriage in 2024, after which they lived near Ekta Nagar Police Chowki on Ajwa Road. She worked as a homemaker, while her husband drove an auto-rickshaw. In 2025, she allegedly found that he was involved with another woman, and when she confronted him, he abused and assaulted her. She returned to her parental home but later went back after persuasion from his relatives, after which the alleged harassment resumed.

According to the complaint, on January 14, 2026, the accused again assaulted her after a dispute, following which she started staying with her mother. On February 25, 2026, when she was going out to get medicine, her husband allegedly intercepted her on the road, abused her, and threatened her.

Police said that later the same evening, when the woman was travelling with her mother and brother in an auto-rickshaw, the accused allegedly forced her into his own vehicle near a hospital and drove her to a field on Ajwa–Nimeta Road. There, he allegedly demanded to know whether she would continue living with him and then beat her with kicks and punches.

The woman further alleged that the accused stuffed a handkerchief in her mouth, strangled her, and threatened to cut her into pieces if she shouted. She managed to escape and informed her family, after which she was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Police said the accused has been arrested, and the victim and her family will be provided protection while further investigation is underway. DeshGujarat