Hindu woman claims she was sexually abused and tortured at yoga center for marrying a Christian

A Hindu woman has filed a police complaint against her own family and a charitable trust in Kerala, alleging that she was sexually abused and tortured while she was held captive at a yoga center because she married a Christian man.

The 28-year-old woman, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed that she was forcibly detained at the Yoga and Charitable Trust in Kandanad, where 65 other girls are also being allegedly held captive.

The authorities have registered a case against six people, including the woman's brother-in-law, Manoj Guruji, who runs the charitable trust, according to India Today.

The woman, who claims to be a Hindu and an Ayurveda doctor, got married to a Christian man last year despite opposition from her family.

She was reportedly invited by her parents to her sister's house on July 28 under the guise of reconciliation. On July 31, she was taken to the yoga center, where she was allegedly subjected to wrongful confinement, assault, racist remarks and criminal intimidation.

The woman said that she was tortured for 22 days and was talked into marrying another person. "Guruji even threatened to kill my husband and asked me to marry a Hindu man who my father would choose for me," she stated.

She claimed that Guruji and the others confiscated her phone and other belongings, tied her up and assaulted her repeatedly.

"They threatened me with the evil consequences of marrying a Christian and when I objected and tried to escape from illegal confinement they physically assaulted me and outraged my modesty by tearing my dress," she said.

In her complaint, the Ayurveda doctor stated that the other girls were also assaulted, sexually abused and taught about the "evils of Christianity and Islam." She noted that the girls who were confined at the center were forced to use bathrooms that did not have bolts and to wear wet clothes with nowhere to dry them. She further claimed that she was forced to clean and prepare dishes for the other girls.

The woman she was able to escape after she pretended to agree to marry a Hindu man. "On August 21, I pretended as I agreed to their terms and my parents took me to my elder sister's house at Muvattupuzha from where I escaped and joined my husband," she narrated.

The woman's allegations came two days after a 22-year-old woman named Athira held a press conference claiming to have "returned" from Hinduism after having converted to Islam in July.

The Ayurveda doctor claimed that Athira was among the 65 girls who were held captive at the yoga center.

According to Hindustan Times, the charitable trust had recently boasted that it had brought back at least 2,000 Hindu girls who converted to other religions in four years.