On March 11 a video of the conversion ceremony of a 13-year-old girl named Kavita Oad from the Kandhkot area of Sindh, Pakistan had gone viral on social media. Kavita had reportedly been abducted, forcibly made to embrace Islam by the notorious Islamic cleric Mian Mithoo and possibly married off to her abductor.
Today, it has been reported that on the night of March 14, some identified goons torched Kavita’s house in Sindh. An NGO- Voice of Pakistan Minority, which has been committed to protecting minority rights in Pakistan, has taken to Twitter to share the video of the incident.
On the night of 14th March, Kavita’s, (a 13 yr old minor #Hindu girl who was kidnapped and forcibly converted) house has been torched by unknown goons. Despite of the promises by the officials, Kavita’s family hasn’t been provided any security. Why?#StopConvertingMinorities pic.twitter.com/vn0L5UhtbL
— Voice of Pakistan Minority (@voice_minority) March 16, 2021
Infuriated by such incidents of brutalities against minorities in the terror state of Pakistan, the NGO questioned why the Pakistani authorities, despite assurance, could not protect Kavita and her family.
It is pertinent to note here that merely two days after the news of Kavita’s abduction and forced conversion gained traction on social media and the case reached Pakistan court, the perpetrators set her house on fire. This, in all probabilities, is nothing but a strategy to create pressure on Kavita’s poor and distressed family to back down. Also, by burning down Kavita’s house, these Islamists evidently want to instil fear in the minds of all the poverty-stricken Hindus in Pakistan, giving out a message that if the minority Hindus want to live in Pakistan they will have to abide by the terms and conditions set out for them by the Islamists in the country.
Meanwhile, giving further updates in the case, Sukhdev Hemnani, Vice-President of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), who has been following the case very closely, wrote on Twitter that Kavita, who had gone missing, has finally been recovered by the Kandhkot police. She was to be presented before the court today.
As she is under immense pressure, her statement will be recorded tomorrow morning and the case will be decided accordingly. Meanwhile, the court has sent Kavita Bai to a government safe house at Kandhkot. The Sindh govt and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) are following up the case, said Hemnani.
He also informed that the Sindh police have arrested two people, who were reportedly involved in setting Kavita’s house ablaze and are in the lookout for the other culprits.
Hemnani had earlier said that his party had taken up the case with Sindh Human Rights Commission and trying for the court to fix hearing of the case at the earliest.
Moreover, as far as the issue of her home having been set ablaze earlier is concerned, the police has made arrests in that regard. Two of the suspicious culprits are under police custody.
— Sukhdev (@SukhdevHemnani_) March 16, 2021
The 13-year-old Kavita Oad was allegedly kidnapped by a man of Bahalkani tribe and forcibly converted to Islam by Barelvi cleric Mian Mithoo.
Mian Mithoo runs the controversial Bharchundi mosque in Sindh, notorious for kidnapping, forceful conversions, and marriage of minor Hindu girls in the area.
Video of the conversion ceremony of Kavita goes viral on social media
In the video, the minor girl could be seen sitting on the ground with a mob surrounding her and recording the video of the conversion ceremony. According to Pakistani journalist Naila Inayat, the conversion ceremony was facilitated by notorious cleric Mian Mithoo of the Bharchundi mosque. Mithoo is a hardline cleric and politician and is notorious for systematically carried out kidnappings and forced conversions of poor Hindu girls.
Sukhdev Hemnani, Vice-President of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Twitter, had informed that he is following up the case with local officials. Sukhdev said that Kavita was forcefully taken to Ghotki from Kadhkot for conversion. He had added that an FIR has been registered in the matter and a case will be filed by a lawyer. Sindh women’s department official Syeda Shehla Raza had also informed that they are trying to recover the girl.
Hindu community in Pakistan protests, demands Kavita’s return to her family
The Hindu community in the Tangwani city of Pakistan held a protest against the conversion of minor girls from the community and demanded that Kavita be returned to her family.
