'The Kerala Story motivated me': Mumbai-based model accuses Ranchi man of conversion attempt

Manvi, who has accused a man of trying to convert her, approached the police after watching The Kerala Story, the Mumbai-based model told the news agency ANI on Wednesday. She filed a complaint against Tanveer Akhtar, the owner of a Ranchi-based modelling agency, saying he allegedly raped her on the pretext of marriage and also pressurized her to convert. Manvi also revealed that he concealed his real identity as his name was Tanveer Akhtar but he said his name was Yash.  

"He was putting pressure on me to marry him and convert my religion," she said, adding that all this started in the year 2020 when she joined his modelling agency. "Earlier, he told me that his name was Yash but after four months, I got to know that his real name is Tanveer Akhtar. He is sending my pictures to my family members and commenting on my social media posts. He also tried to kill me in Mumbai. After watching the film 'The Kerala Story', I got motivated to register a complaint against him," the model was quoted as saying by ANI.

Directed by Sudipto Sen, 'The Kerala Story' shows how women from Kerala were forced to convert to Islam and recruited by the terror group Islamic State (IS). The film, which was released on May 5, was initially portrayed as "unearthing" the events behind "approximately 32,000 women" allegedly missing from Kerala.

The 23-year-old woman alleged that Tanveer took her to Ranchi where he raped her after promising to marry her and also began to put pressure on her to convert to Islam. Mumbai's Versova police registered a case for alleged rape and other relevant offences under the Indian Penal Code on May 28, and the case was transferred to Ranchi police as alleged incidents had taken place there, the official said as per PTI.

After Manvi filed a complaint, Tanveer filed an affidavit in court, confessing to harassing the model. He, however, claimed that he did not mean any harm, but that he wanted them to live together. Manvi alleged that despite assurances that he would not do so again in the future, Tanveer again tried to "torture" her on her birthday on May 25. Manvi then uploaded a video on Twitter and sought help and protection from the chief ministers of Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Bihar.

Meanwhile, Tanveer has denied all the allegations saying they were false. "She circulated my nude photos among my friends and relatives. She took the help of her friends and boyfriend. She wanted to steal my data and use them," Tanveer claimed.