News Analysis India

Tag: Love Jihad

  • Twisted Tale Of Love And Betrayal: Shoaib Sheikh Kills His Bank Manager Partner Amit Kaur |

    In yet another case of love relation gone wrong, a man murdered his partner in Mumbai. The duo met on social media three months ago. The incident took place in Turbhe of Navi Mumbai. The crime blurred the lines between love and vengeance, as a man named Shoaib Sheikh, 24, orchestrated the murder of his lover, a bank manager named Amit Kaur, 35, a divorcee and mother of a teen girl.

    The tale began a few months ago when Shoaib and Amit first crossed paths through social media. What seemed like a blossoming romance took a dark turn on the night of January 8th when Shoaib arrived in Turbhe to celebrate Kaur’s birthday.

    According to the information provided by the police, Shoaib, fueled by suspicions and emotions, strangled Amit Kaur to death in a lodge where they had planned to mark the occasion. After committing the heinous act, Shoaib fled the scene, leaving the staff to make a gruesome discovery when they opened the door to find the woman’s lifeless body.

    Upon conducting an investigation, the Sakinaka police in Mumbai apprehended Shoaib Sheikh. The young man, who worked in a garage, eventually confessed to the crime after being taken into custody.

    The police revealed that Shoaib harbored suspicions about his lover, which ultimately led him to carry out the murder. The victim, a respected bank manager, was completely unaware of the sinister intentions that had been festering within Shoaib.

    The tragic incident shed light on the consequences of a relationship tainted by distrust and betrayal. As the legal proceedings unfolded, the dark secrets behind this twisted tale of love and betrayal continued to unravel, leaving the community grappling with the shocking reality that had unfolded in their midst.

  • Vishva Hindu Parishad holds camp to train J&K girls in arts of self-defence, combating love jihad 

    By PTI

    JAMMU: VHP-affiliated ‘Durga Vahini’ held a training camp for girls in Jammu and Kashmir to teach them the arts of self-defence and even how to keep their own during terror attacks, the right-wing outfit said here on Sunday.

    Girls, all aged about 18, from 12 districts of the Union Territory participated in the week-long camp that started on July 3.

    Besides teaching them defence skills, the camp was also aimed at making girls aware of ‘love jihad,’ said a VHP member.

    “We organised a seven-day training camp from July 3, focusing on self-defence and personality development,” Shabnam Khajuria, the head of Durga Vahini, told PTI.

    The primary objective of this initiative was to enhance girls’ self-confidence and prepare them to combat all types of threats — from terrorism to disasters in the region, she said.

    “In addition to yoga and non-weapon techniques, the participants were trained in handling rifles and swords, enabling them to handle any situation effectively,” Shabnam said.

    Head Instructor Anjali Khajuria said once the girls are trained, they will further pass on their newly acquired skills to other women back home.

    In all, 82 girls, all aged 18 and above, hailing from 12 districts of Jammu and Kashmir, particularly the border areas, participated in the camp.

    Aditi Gupta, one of the trainees shared her experience saying, “The training in martial arts and weapon handling has made us physically and mentally strong.

    It has given us the self-confidence to face any situation. This is a lifelong learning process.”

    Another trainee Asmita Gupta said that the girl will go back to their native places and teach others about such practices.

    ‘Durga Vahini’ is affiliated with the Vishva Hindu Parishad, a right-wing group.

    “It serves as the female counterpart of the Bajrang Dal, a subsidiary of the Hindu nationalist organisation VHP, established in 1991.

    Women aged 18 to 35 are eligible to join and receive training in the camp,” Shakti Dhar Sharma, vice president, J&K VHP, told PTI.

    He said they are educating women on the issues of love jihad and the challenges being faced by Hindus.

    ‘Love jihad’ is a term used by right-wing activists to refer to an alleged conspiracy to convert Hindu girls to Islam by marrying them.

    The camp operated from 4 am to 10.30 pm, dedicating four hours to the women’s mental and physical development, Sharma said.

    JAMMU: VHP-affiliated ‘Durga Vahini’ held a training camp for girls in Jammu and Kashmir to teach them the arts of self-defence and even how to keep their own during terror attacks, the right-wing outfit said here on Sunday.

    Girls, all aged about 18, from 12 districts of the Union Territory participated in the week-long camp that started on July 3.

    Besides teaching them defence skills, the camp was also aimed at making girls aware of ‘love jihad,’ said a VHP member.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2′); });

    “We organised a seven-day training camp from July 3, focusing on self-defence and personality development,” Shabnam Khajuria, the head of Durga Vahini, told PTI.

    The primary objective of this initiative was to enhance girls’ self-confidence and prepare them to combat all types of threats — from terrorism to disasters in the region, she said.

    “In addition to yoga and non-weapon techniques, the participants were trained in handling rifles and swords, enabling them to handle any situation effectively,” Shabnam said.

    Head Instructor Anjali Khajuria said once the girls are trained, they will further pass on their newly acquired skills to other women back home.

    In all, 82 girls, all aged 18 and above, hailing from 12 districts of Jammu and Kashmir, particularly the border areas, participated in the camp.

    Aditi Gupta, one of the trainees shared her experience saying, “The training in martial arts and weapon handling has made us physically and mentally strong.

    It has given us the self-confidence to face any situation. This is a lifelong learning process.”

    Another trainee Asmita Gupta said that the girl will go back to their native places and teach others about such practices.

    ‘Durga Vahini’ is affiliated with the Vishva Hindu Parishad, a right-wing group.

    “It serves as the female counterpart of the Bajrang Dal, a subsidiary of the Hindu nationalist organisation VHP, established in 1991.

    Women aged 18 to 35 are eligible to join and receive training in the camp,” Shakti Dhar Sharma, vice president, J&K VHP, told PTI.

    He said they are educating women on the issues of love jihad and the challenges being faced by Hindus.

    ‘Love jihad’ is a term used by right-wing activists to refer to an alleged conspiracy to convert Hindu girls to Islam by marrying them.

    The camp operated from 4 am to 10.30 pm, dedicating four hours to the women’s mental and physical development, Sharma said.

  • Maha govt panel set up to collect data on inter-faith couples, Opposition slams ‘retrograde’ move

    By Online Desk

    MUMBAI: In a disturbing development, the Maharashtra government has set up a committee to gather information on inter-faith and inter-caste marriage couples and the maternal families of the women involved if they are estranged. The panel will have 13 members from government and non-government fields to study policies regarding related welfare schemes and laws.

    The opposition Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has condemned the “retrograde” step, stating that the Eknath Shinde government had no right to spy on the personal lives of people. Senior NCP leader and former state minister Jitendra Awhad tweeted, “What’s this rubbish of committee to check inter-caste/religion marriages? Who is govt to spy on who marries whom? In liberal Maharashtra this a retrograde, nauseating step. Which way is progressive Maharashtra heading towards. Stay away from people’s private life.”

    A Government Resolution (GR) issued on Tuesday by the state’s Women and Child Development Department said the “Intercaste/Interfaith marriage-family coordination committee (state level)” will be headed by Lodha.

    They will hold regular meetings with district officials and collect information on registered and unregistered inter-faith and inter-caste marriages including elopement, it said.

    The committee will monitor district-level initiatives for women involved in such marriages who may be estranged from their families, so that assistance can be provided if necessary, it said. Women and their families can also use the platform to avail of counselling and resolve issues.

    ALSO READ | Anti-conversion law: MP govt to move SC against interim relief from action given to interfaith couples

    State minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha who is heading the committee head claimed it was “an attempt to ensure that the Shraddha Walkar case does not happen again.”

    “The fact that Walkar’s family was not aware that she had died six months ago is scary… the committee is being set up to ensure women in such marriages are not away from their families,” he said.

    Walkar was murdered allegedly by her partner Aaftab Poonawala in Delhi in May this year who had strangled and cut her body into 35 pieces which he kept in a 300-litre fridge for almost three weeks at his residence in Mehrauli, before dumping them across the city over several days.

    READ HERE | Anti-conversion laws, tedious Special Marriage Act hurt interfaith unions

    Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had recently said that his government would study laws on freedom of religion enacted by other states, but had not yet decided on introducing a similar law in the western state.

    “Love jihad”, used by right-wing activists, alleges a ‘ploy’ by Muslim men to lure Hindu women into conversion through marriage.

    (With PTI inputs)

    MUMBAI: In a disturbing development, the Maharashtra government has set up a committee to gather information on inter-faith and inter-caste marriage couples and the maternal families of the women involved if they are estranged. The panel will have 13 members from government and non-government fields to study policies regarding related welfare schemes and laws.

    The opposition Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has condemned the “retrograde” step, stating that the Eknath Shinde government had no right to spy on the personal lives of people. Senior NCP leader and former state minister Jitendra Awhad tweeted, “What’s this rubbish of committee to check inter-caste/religion marriages? Who is govt to spy on who marries whom? In liberal Maharashtra this a retrograde, nauseating step. Which way is progressive Maharashtra heading towards. Stay away from people’s private life.”

    A Government Resolution (GR) issued on Tuesday by the state’s Women and Child Development Department said the “Intercaste/Interfaith marriage-family coordination committee (state level)” will be headed by Lodha.

    They will hold regular meetings with district officials and collect information on registered and unregistered inter-faith and inter-caste marriages including elopement, it said.

    The committee will monitor district-level initiatives for women involved in such marriages who may be estranged from their families, so that assistance can be provided if necessary, it said. Women and their families can also use the platform to avail of counselling and resolve issues.

    ALSO READ | Anti-conversion law: MP govt to move SC against interim relief from action given to interfaith couples

    State minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha who is heading the committee head claimed it was “an attempt to ensure that the Shraddha Walkar case does not happen again.”

    “The fact that Walkar’s family was not aware that she had died six months ago is scary… the committee is being set up to ensure women in such marriages are not away from their families,” he said.

    Walkar was murdered allegedly by her partner Aaftab Poonawala in Delhi in May this year who had strangled and cut her body into 35 pieces which he kept in a 300-litre fridge for almost three weeks at his residence in Mehrauli, before dumping them across the city over several days.

    READ HERE | Anti-conversion laws, tedious Special Marriage Act hurt interfaith unions

    Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had recently said that his government would study laws on freedom of religion enacted by other states, but had not yet decided on introducing a similar law in the western state.

    “Love jihad”, used by right-wing activists, alleges a ‘ploy’ by Muslim men to lure Hindu women into conversion through marriage.

    (With PTI inputs)

  • “Muslims welcome at Garbas, if Quran permits them to pursue idol worship,” says MP Usha Thakur

    By Express News Service

    BHOPAL: Just five days after she stated that entry in Garba Pandals will be allowed only to those possessing authentic ID proofs to prevent such venues from becoming a medium of ‘Love Jihad,’ Madhya Pradesh’s culture and tourism minister Usha Thakur has now said, “Muslims will be welcomed at Garbas if their sacred scripture Quran permits them to pursue idol worship.”

    “Muslims are most welcome to Garbas, provided they have faith in idol worship and their holy scripture Quran permits them to pursue idol worship. They aren’t being invited to Garbas, but if they are so high in faith for the Garbas, then they should have faith in idol worship, which should be allowed by their sacred scripture Quran as well. Also, Muslim men, who’ve faith in pursuing idol worship will only be welcomed at Garba venues, if they come along with their female family members,” Thakur told journalists in Bhopal on Tuesday.

    She reiterated that no one will be allowed at any Garba venues across the state without authentic identity proof. “We’re writing to all district collectors, requesting them to ensure that entry at Garbas during the coming Navratri celebrations is only allowed to those, who carry authentic ID proofs. This will stop those who hide their actual identity from entering the Garbas.”

    Just five days back, Thakur had said in Gwalior, “Whoever comes to the Garbas should possess authentic identity proofs, without proper ID proofs, entry will not be allowed in Garba Pandals.”

    “Garbas in the past had turned into a big medium of Love Jihad activities, but now all concerned stakeholders have become very alert about it. Just to ensure that no one enters the Garba venues, hiding real identity, no one should be allowed entry into the Garba pandals without proper ID proofs,” she had added.

    While asking the Garba organisers to ensure strict implementation of ‘No Entry without ID proof at Garbas,’ the minister had said, “This is a salaah (advice) as well as naseehat (instruction).”

    Importantly, in 2013, while she was the BJP MLA from Indore-III seat of Indore district, Thakur, ahead of Navratri celebrations had demanded a ban on entry of non-Hindus, particularly Muslims at the Garba venues, for preventing Muslim men from seducing Hindu girls and women. She had then demanded making Aadhar and other ID proofs mandatory for entering the Garba venues to prevent Muslim men from entering the Garba venues, by posing themselves as Hindus.

    In 2017, an umbrella group of Hindu festival organisers in Bhopal, the Hindu Utsav Samiti too had demanded from the district administration in the state capital to make possession of Aadhar documents necessary as ID proof for entry into the Garba pandals to prevent the entry of non-Hindus (particularly Muslims) at those venues.

    Garbas which form a seminal part of Navratri celebrations are organized across Madhya Pradesh during the Sharadiya Navratra, but they are most popular in Malwa-Nimar/West MP region, including Indore and adjoining districts.

    BHOPAL: Just five days after she stated that entry in Garba Pandals will be allowed only to those possessing authentic ID proofs to prevent such venues from becoming a medium of ‘Love Jihad,’ Madhya Pradesh’s culture and tourism minister Usha Thakur has now said, “Muslims will be welcomed at Garbas if their sacred scripture Quran permits them to pursue idol worship.”

    “Muslims are most welcome to Garbas, provided they have faith in idol worship and their holy scripture Quran permits them to pursue idol worship. They aren’t being invited to Garbas, but if they are so high in faith for the Garbas, then they should have faith in idol worship, which should be allowed by their sacred scripture Quran as well. Also, Muslim men, who’ve faith in pursuing idol worship will only be welcomed at Garba venues, if they come along with their female family members,” Thakur told journalists in Bhopal on Tuesday.

    She reiterated that no one will be allowed at any Garba venues across the state without authentic identity proof. “We’re writing to all district collectors, requesting them to ensure that entry at Garbas during the coming Navratri celebrations is only allowed to those, who carry authentic ID proofs. This will stop those who hide their actual identity from entering the Garbas.”

    Just five days back, Thakur had said in Gwalior, “Whoever comes to the Garbas should possess authentic identity proofs, without proper ID proofs, entry will not be allowed in Garba Pandals.”

    “Garbas in the past had turned into a big medium of Love Jihad activities, but now all concerned stakeholders have become very alert about it. Just to ensure that no one enters the Garba venues, hiding real identity, no one should be allowed entry into the Garba pandals without proper ID proofs,” she had added.

    While asking the Garba organisers to ensure strict implementation of ‘No Entry without ID proof at Garbas,’ the minister had said, “This is a salaah (advice) as well as naseehat (instruction).”

    Importantly, in 2013, while she was the BJP MLA from Indore-III seat of Indore district, Thakur, ahead of Navratri celebrations had demanded a ban on entry of non-Hindus, particularly Muslims at the Garba venues, for preventing Muslim men from seducing Hindu girls and women. She had then demanded making Aadhar and other ID proofs mandatory for entering the Garba venues to prevent Muslim men from entering the Garba venues, by posing themselves as Hindus.

    In 2017, an umbrella group of Hindu festival organisers in Bhopal, the Hindu Utsav Samiti too had demanded from the district administration in the state capital to make possession of Aadhar documents necessary as ID proof for entry into the Garba pandals to prevent the entry of non-Hindus (particularly Muslims) at those venues.

    Garbas which form a seminal part of Navratri celebrations are organized across Madhya Pradesh during the Sharadiya Navratra, but they are most popular in Malwa-Nimar/West MP region, including Indore and adjoining districts.

  • UP ATS arrests three in connection with ‘illegal’ religious conversions

    By PTI

    LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) arrested three men on Sunday in connection with alleged illegal religious conversions.

    In a statement issued here, the ATS said, “Residents of Muzaffarnagar — Mohammad Idris and Mohammad Saleem — and Kunal Ashok Chaudhary alias Aatif, a resident of Nashik (in Maharashtra), have been arrested for running a countrywide racket of illegal religious conversions and taking funds from foreign countries to undertake religious conversions.”

    The ATS arrested Maulana Umar Gautam on June 20 for allegedly running a racket of illegal religious conversions.

    Maulana Kaleem Siddiqui was also arrested in this connection from Meerut on September 21.

    The ATS said arrested accused Saleem assisted Siddiqui in carrying out religious conversions for 17 years.

    Similarly, Idris and Chaudhary also used to help Siddiqui in religious conversions.

  • Madhya Pradesh: Minor bashed up on suspicion of ‘love jihad’

    By PTI

    DEWAS: A 16-year-old Hindu boy who had allegedly run away with a girl was beaten up by a group of men in Madhya Pradesh’s Dewas district allegedly on suspicion that it was a case of so-called ‘love jihad’, police said on Saturday.

    No arrest has been made so far in connection with the incident which took place four days ago.

    Both the girl and the boy hail from Uttar Pradesh, police said.

    A video of the incident also went viral on social media.

    The boy had reportedly run away with the 12-year-old girl from Balia in Uttar Pradesh and police in Dewas had been alerted to look out for them, said an official.

    A team of police personnel spotted them in a bus at Bhunsara toll booth, 17 km from Dewas city, said Sonkach area sub-divisional officer of police (SDOP) Prashant Singh Bhadoria.

    Just as the police was taking them away, over a dozen men, who were apparently following the bus in two cars, appeared on the spot and set upon the boy, he said.

    The video showed several men slapping, hitting and punching the boy even as the policemen tried to stop them.

    The accused apparently thought that the boy was Muslim and had run away with a Hindu girl, said another police official.

    Both are in fact Hindu, he said.

    “They thought it was a case of `love jihad’. We were telling them that both were from the same community, but they didn’t listen,” he said, adding that if the boy had not been rescued by the police in time, he might not have survived.

    ‘Love jihad’ is a term used by some right-wing leaders who claim that there is a `conspiracy’ to lure Hindu girls and convert them to Islam through marriage.

    The girl and the boy were taken to a safe place and later handed over to the Uttar Pradesh police, the SDOP said.

    On Friday, Dewas district police registered a case against four men who were identified from the video, and 15 other unidentified persons under IPC sections 353 (use of criminal force on any person with a public servant in the execution of his duty as such public servant), 147 (rioting), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 294 (use of obscene word).

    “We are trying to identify the other accused. As the charges against the accused are bailable and do not invite punishment of more than seven years, we are going to serve notice to them (before deciding on arrest),”” SDOP Bhadoria said.

  • Gujarat government to HC: Anti-conversion law does not prohibit inter-faith marriages

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat government on Tuesday strongly defended its new anti-conversion law before the High Court, claiming the legislation only deals with “unlawful” religious conversion through marriage and does not prohibit people from entering into inter-faith wedlocks.

    To further allay apprehensions raised by a petitioner as well as the Gujarat HC about the new law, Advocate General Kamal Trivedi, on behalf of the state government, said the legislation has several “safety valves”, such as prior approval of a district magistrate or an SDM- level officer to initiate prosecution.

    After hearing the government’s arguments, a division bench of Chief Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Biren Vaishnav kept the next hearing on August 19 for pronouncement of an interim order.

    The bench is hearing a petition challenging provisions of the law which penalizes forcible or fraudulent religious conversion through marriage.

    The petition against the Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act, 2021, was filed last month by the Gujarat chapter of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind.

    The Act was notified on June 15.

    During past hearings, the petitioner’s lawyer, Mihir Joshi, had claimed the amended law has “vague” terms which are against basic principles of marriage and right to propagate, profess and practice religion as enshrined in Article 25 of the Constitution.

    Since the law says no person shall be converted by use of force, allurement, fraudulent means and by marriage, Joshi said, it becomes an offence under its provisions if two persons of different faiths get married.

    In his response, AG Trivedi told the bench that people should not have any fear about the law.

    “Why this fear? So long as genuine conversion is there, people need not worry. (Inter-faith) marriage per se is not prohibited in this law. It only prohibits forcible conversion by marriage.”

    “The law says no person shall be converted by use of force, allurement, fraudulent means or by marriage for the purpose of conversion,” Trivedi argued.

    Trivedi said no FIR has been lodged just on the ground of inter-faith marriage under this law as it does not prohibit such wedlocks per se.

    “This is not the usual IPC section. The law mandates that the case must be investigated by a Deputy SP-rank officer, not any constable or PSI. Further, prosecution will not start without the sanction of the District Magistrate or the Sub-Divisional Magistrate. These are the safety valves given under the law,” said the state government’s top law officer.

    Trivedi added that the focus of the law on unlawful conversion and not marriages as stated by the petitioner.

    He informed the court that only three complaints had been registered across the state under this law so far.

    The BJP government had passed the Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill in the Assembly during the budget session.

    Governor Acharya Devvrat gave his assent to the bill on May 22.

  • Gujarat’s new anti-conversion law challenged in HC, matter to be listed after two to three days

    By PTI
    AHMEDABAD: Provisions of a new Gujarat law which penalises forcible or fraudulent religious conversion through marriage has been challenged in the state High Court, where it was mentioned before a division bench on Monday.

    The Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act, 2021, was notified in the state on June 15.

    The matter was mentioned before the division bench of Chief Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Biren Vaishnav for circulation.

    Allowing the same, the court said it will be listed after two to three days.

    Lawyer MTM Hakim, who represents the petitioner challenging the provisions of the Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act, declined to share any more detail at this stage.

    The state government had passed the Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill in the Assembly during the Budget session, and Governor Acharya Devvrat gave his assent to it on May 22.

    It came into force on June 15, and since then several FIRs have been filed in different police stations of Gujarat under the controversial law.

    The first FIR was filed at a police station in Vadodara against one Samir Qureshi (26) for allegedly luring a woman of another religion by posing as a Christian on social media in 2019, as per the police.

    The Act has stringent punishment for forcible religious conversion through marriage and attracts imprisonment of 3 to 5 years and up to Rs 2 lakh fine.

    If the victim is a minor, a woman, a Dalit or tribal, then the offenders may be punished for a jail term of 4 to 7 years and a fine of no less than Rs 3 lakh.

    For an institution or an organisation found flouting the law, the person in charge during the time of the offence shall invite punishment no less than three years extending up to ten years, as per the Act.

    “The Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003 seeks to deal with religious conversion through allurement, force or by misrepresentation or by any other fraudulent means.”

    “However, there are episodes of religious conversion promising better lifestyle, divine blessings and impersonation. There is an emerging trend in which women are lured to marriage for the purpose of religious conversion,” the government had said while introducing the amendment to the Act.

  • ‘Abducted’ women rescued by Muzaffarnagar cops, families allege illegal conversion

    By PTI
    MUZAFFARNAGAR: Police on Thursday said they have “rescued” two women from Khatauli town here, who were allegedly lured and converted to Islam by men who then married them.

    The district police said they handed over Anjali alias Anjum Khan and Chaya Dixit alias Zoya Khan to police teams in Hamirpur and Jhansi respectively, where their family members had lodged complaints of abduction in the two separate cases.

    But other versions suggested that the women had eloped with the men that they were in relationship with.

    The two men, Monu Khan and Rehman Khan, have absconded, police said, adding some Hindu activists have demanded their arrest.

    An FIR was registered at Rath police station under Section 366 (kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her marriage).

    It was not immediately clear whether Hamirpur and Jhansi police have also registered cases under Uttar Pradesh’s anti-conversion law, which critics claim is often misused.

    “The woman (Anjali) was rescued and brought to Hamirpur.

    We can’t say anything till she gives her statement,” Harimpur Superintendent of Police (SP) Narendra Kumar Singh said.

    Meanwhile, a 25-year-old man and two others were arrested in Gujarat’s Vadodara city on Thursday under a new law for allegedly forcing his wife to convert after marriage and also for domestic violence, police said.

    Mohib Pathan, his brother Mohsin and their father Imtiyaz Pathan were arrested by Fatehgunj police under the Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act, 2021, which came into force on June 15.

    The controversial legislation provides for punishment ranging from three to ten years in prison.

    The three accused were also booked under IPC sections 354 (outraging modesty of woman), 498-A(domestic violence) and 377 (unnatural sex), Assistant Commissioner of Police Paresh Bhesania told reporters.

    Mohib’s wife, a Hindu, had lodged a complaint on Wednesday alleging that he deceived her by claiming that she will not be forced to covert to Islam after marriage, the ACP said.

    “But soon after the marriage last year, Mohib and his family started pressuring her to convert and also changed her name. The victim also claimed that Mohib forced her into unnatural sex and thrashed her on a few occasions,” said Bhesania.

    The woman also accused Mohib’s brother Mohsin of harassing her and alleged that her father-in-law refused to give money for her delivery three months ago and asked her to get money from her parents, the officer said.

    This is the second FIR registered in Vadodara city in a week under the stringent anti-conversion law which seeks to punish forcible or fraudulent conversion through marriage.

    A week ago, Gotri police had arrested a Muslim man for allegedly luring a Hindu woman into marriage by posing as Christian.

  • Uttar Pradesh: Bajrang Dal activists create ruckus outside Bareilly court over ‘love jihad’

    By PTI
    BAREILLY (UTTAR PRADESH): Members of the Bajrang Dal on Tuesday created a ruckus outside a court here, when a minor girl turned up there allegedly for a court marriage with a man from another community.

    The activists of the right-wing group claimed that they had gathered there to oppose a court marriage on the basis of “forged papers”, showing the girl as a Muslim. They called it an incident of “love jihad”, a reference to the allegations that Hindu women are being duped into marriages with Muslim men for sake of conversion.

    The man fled from there as police detained his parents and the girl. Police said they have called the girl’s brother who lives in Delhi’s Badarpur. The girl had left her brother’s place a few days ago, after which the family lodged a complaint that she was “missing”.

    “The missing report of the girl has been registered in Delhi. She will be handed over to the Delhi Police when they arrive here. More facts about the girl are being gathered,” said Chhavi Singh, Inspector at the local women police station.

    According to the girl’s brother, she is around 15-year-old, police said. Meanwhile, the Bajrang Dal activists claimed that the girl was introduced to the 24-year-old man, a resident of Bareilly’s Fatehganj area, almost a year ago.

    Today, the man, along with his parents, was trying for a court marriage using forged papers, they alleged, adding that they got information about it on Monday night. Neeraj Chaurasia, an office-bearer of the Bajrang Dal, also alleged that the man and his parents were “trying to sell the girl for Rs 50,000”.