A 21-year-old woman was allegedly given triple talaq by her husband and later raped by a tantrik on the pretext of ‘Nikah Halala’ when her husband wished to remarry her in Bhopal, police said.

In her complaint to police, the woman registered an FIR against her husband and a tantrik at Aishbagh police station following which the both the accused were arrested.

The incident is from Ashoka Garden area of Bhopal. The woman, who approached police two days back, alleged that her husband gave her triple talaq which is now illegal on November 23 after the couple had a fight.

The husband later had a change of heart and wished to remarry her, said Jahangirabad City Superintendent of Police (CSP) Abdul Aleem Khan.

Anwar Baba (50), who was the the woman’s ‘nikahi baap’ (one who offers the bride’s hand to the groom during the wedding), told the couple that if they wished to remarry, the woman will have to first marry someone else, consummate the marriage and then remarry her first husband as per the custom of Nikah Halala.

She alleged that after triple talaq, the tantrik raped her with her husband’s consent.

Aishbag police station in-charge Ajay Nair said the man gave her divorce in November after the two got married in April. The man tried to resolve the matter with his wife. A tantrik told him that the woman needs to do halala, for which the man agreed, police said.

The tantrik took the woman to a flat and raped her in the name of ‘halala’, the police official said. When the woman returned to her husband’s house, he refused to take her in, following which she lodged a complaint against him as well as the tantrik, SSP Khan said.

The woman narrated the incident to her family, after which she reported the matter to Aishbagh police station.

On the basis of the complaint filed by the woman, a case under Section 343 and 376 of the Indian Penal Code was registered against her husband and tantrik. Both were arrested and produced in the court. The two have been sent to judicial custody for 14 days.