The Uttar Pradesh Police have filed an FIR against a man for allegedly assaulting his three-month pregnant wife. Shamshad and his brothers Naushad, Zafar Ali and Iliyas have been booked for trying to prevent the birth of the child, reported PTI. The police action was initiated after Shagufta sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking abolition of the Islamic practice of triple talaq.

In her letter to Modi, Shagufta said Shamsad verbally divorced her using triple talaq because he feared she would have a girl child. The mother of two girls also alleged that her in-laws put pressure on her to have an abortion. They, along with her husband, assaulted her before throwing her out of the house.

Shagufta, who has sent a copy of the letter to Chief Minister Adityanath, also claimed that she had gone to Saharanpur’s Nanauta police station on March 24, but that officers there had refused to lodge a complaint.

Shagufta and Shamshad have been married for five years and have two daughters.

The practice of triple talaq comes under the Sharia law. It gives a man the right to end the marriage by verbally saying ‘talaq’ thrice to his wife. In October last year, the Centre had taken an official stand against triple talaq and polygamy and told the Supreme Court that gender equality was non-negotiable. Since then, the apex court has been hearing a number of petitions related to the triple talaq debate.