The cities of Indore and Khandwa have recorded the highest number of incidences of love jihad in the state of Madhya Pradesh, a report published in Dainik Bhaskar said. In small localities, tribal females have been the primary victims of love jihad. There are more minor females among them who have completed classes VIII-X and are active on social media. College students and working females have been victims in large cities such as Bhopal and Indore.
The victim females claim that Muslim men befriended them on social media by pretending to be Hindus. They then pledged to marry them. And when they fell for their ruse, they imposed the condition that marriage can take place only if they convert to Islam. After discovering the truth, the girls approached the police.
In a year after the enactment of the Freedom of Religion Act, 67 cases of love jihad have been reported in Madhya Pradesh. 24 of these incidents were recorded in January of this year, and the police filed a charge sheet in 36 of them, while 29 are still under investigation. In these incidents, the police have charged 109 people. Indore has the most instances registered in the state, with 13, while Khandwa has 11 cases. In Bhopal, 9 females were deceived for third place. In third place, 9 girls were deceived in Bhopal.
According to data from the Bhopal-Indore Police, 50 per cent of the incidents here involve girls from the general category. Girls from the general category have filed cases in Bhopal’s Tilajmalpura, Kohefiza, Kamalanagar, and Ashoka Garden. According to Indore Commissioner Harinarayanchari Mishra, around 13 instances have been recorded. Aside from ordinary victims, there are victims of OBC and other groups in this too. Tribal females were victimized in 95 per cent of incidents in the districts of Khandwa, Ujjain, Dhar, Jhabua, Barwani, Khargone, and Rewa.
Conceal identity to befriend, convert to marry
After analyzing 15 incidents in Indore-Bhopal, it was discovered that Muslim boys gained the trust of girls by creating a social media presence in the identity of a Hindu youngster. Then, under the guise of relationship, they urged the females to marry them. Here, the requirement for marriage is that one must first convert to Islam, and only then may the marriage take place. When the females found out about the religious conversion, they discovered that the boys were Muslim. A similar scenario existed in other areas as well.
The Madhya Pradesh Freedom Of Religion Act 2021
On March 8 2021, the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly enacted the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill-2021, which aims to reduce religious conversions. This act was published in the Madhya Pradesh Gazette (Extraordinary) on March 27, 2021, with the Governor’s consent. Its goal is to nullify such marriages that are performed under coercion by converting faith.
Caste-based reservation a reason for love jihad
According to Ram Dangore, a member of the state’s tribal council and Pandhana MLA, if a tribal girl marries a male from another society, her perks and reservation from the government are unaffected. But, if a Scheduled Caste girl marries someone from another community, her reservation is terminated. That is why tribal females are singled out. There are 15 such instances where Muslim youths have married tribal girls and are benefiting from government initiatives and acquiring land in their names.
Case registered only after thorough investigation
“Since the law was enacted, 13 crimes have been registered in the city. In all these cases, the girls had given statements that they were pressured to convert to the religion. The cases are registered only after verification of the statement,” said Harinarayanchari Mishra, the Police Commissioner of Indore.
Vivek Singh, the SP of Khandwa also stated, “The case is registered on the basis of the statement of the victim. If, she mentions in her statement that religious conversion was being done under pressure, then the investigation is done by registering a case under the Religious Freedom Act. The investigation of the crime registered under this Act is done by the SI or higher-level officials.”
