Surat councillor’s daughter sprayed with pepper in Canada, car smashed; returns to India

SURAT: Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) councillor Hemalata Ravatka's 27-year-old daughter was allegedly attacked with pepper spray in Canada last year, an incident that has now come to light after the family filed a complaint with Surat Cyber police over a series of threats received.

Police said the family had been getting threatening messages from unknown numbers since 2023. After the FIR, Surat cyber police identified the accused as Mohammad Asfaq Rifai, son of a former councillor.

According to the complaint filed by Bhupendra Ravatka, a cable operator in Surat and husband of the councillor, their daughter, Ninansha (27) is studying physiotherapy in Canada.

Ravatka said he first received abusive WhatsApp messages from an unknown number on Aug 28, 2023.

On April 17, 2024, he received another message from the same number, warning him against wrongdoing and hinting at corruption. The message read, "Best wishes to your daughter for going abroad to study. Do not do anything wrong to anyone in the city, so that God does not allow anything bad to happen to your daughter. Think twice before indulging in any corruption."

He did not respond. The sender again messaged him on April 30, 2024, daring him to lodge a complaint. As the messages later stopped, Ravatka approached Lalgate police on May 18, 2025.

Meanwhile, Ninansha, who also worked part-time at a store in Canada, was allegedly attacked by three persons who sprayed pepper spray on her on July 27, 2025. The complaint further stated that unknown persons again attempted to attack her on Aug 4, 2025. On Oct 17, 2025, her car was hit by another vehicle while she was returning home.

Following these incidents, the family called her back to Surat for treatment on Nov 7. After recovering, she returned to Canada on Dec 24 to continue her studies. However, she was allegedly harassed again, forcing her to return to Surat on Jan 18, 2026.

Suspecting that the threats received in Surat and the attacks in Canada were connected, Ravatka approached the police and filed a complaint, bringing the entire sequence of events to light.

Investigation officer R R Desai told TOI, "We traced the unknown number to a person in Dahod. We found that a dummy sim was issued in his name. During technical analysis, we found that the number was being used by Mohammad Asfaq Naeemuddin Rifai. We issued him a notice and booked him under BNS sections 504 and 507, and section 66-C of the IT Act for issuing threats. We are investigating whether the threats were linked to business issues or if there is another angle."