On Wednesday, a case of purported love jihad from Kaushambi in Uttar Pradesh came to light. Mohammed Arif disguised himself as a Hindu, Guddu Rajput, in order to befriend Chanda, a 35-year-old widow. The couple even started living together but then Arif brutally murdered her on Wednesday because she refused to convert to Islam. The event occurred in the Meerdahan Ka Purwa hamlet, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Paschim Sarira police station in the Kaushambi district.
Brijesh Kumar Srivastava, the Superintendent of Police today (Thursday, February 16), in a video byte, revealed that Arif, who initially fled after killing his live-in partner, has been arrested. The police confirmed that the accused killed the woman after she refused to comply with his demand for conversion. The police also said that when they went to arrest Arif, he fired at them. Police retaliated, and Arif was injured in the leg during the return fire. He was admitted to the local hospital and is now being treated. A case has been lodged against Arif under relevant provisions of the IPC and the state’s anti-conversion law.
जबरन मतांतरण कराने और उसका विरोध करने पर एक युवती की निर्मम हत्या करने वाले अभियुक्त को पुलिस मुठभेड़ में गिरफ्तार किया गया। इस संबंध में पुलिस अधीक्षक कौशाम्बी द्वारा दी गई बाइट।#UPPolice #kaushambipolice pic.twitter.com/P2hY85DuCE
— KAUSHAMBI POLICE (@kaushambipolice) February 16, 2023
According to reports, Arif, a resident of UP’s Kaushambi district worked as an ambulance driver. Arif was currently posted at 108 emergency services in the Mirzapur district. The deceased, Chanda Singh, was a Mau resident from Uttar Pradesh. Chanda lost her first husband Durgesh Singh five years ago. She had two daughters with her first husband.
Chanda met Arif on social media after her husband died. He disguised himself as Guddu Rajput, a Hindu, in order to befriend her. The woman subsequently fell into his love trap. Arif summoned the woman to Ballia under the guise of employment.
He persuaded Chanda to sell her home in her hometown and move in with him. Chanda sold all of her Mau property worth Rs 1 crore without alerting anyone. Arif purchased land from that money in Ashadha hamlet in the West Sarira police station area and began constructing a house there. Meanwhile, the couple began living together in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh.
The deceased woman’s daughter said that Arif frequently fought with her mother over money. She added that ever since Arif’s religious identity was revealed before Chanda, he began pressurizing her to convert to Islam and perform Namaz at home. Arif used to mercilessly beat up Chanda if she resisted giving in to his demands.
After death of her husband, Chanda Devi got into a relationship with one Arif. Three days ago, she was found dead
— Swati Goel Sharma (@swati_gs) February 15, 2023
Chanda’s daughter from her previous marriage tells the media Arif would constantly fight with Chanda over conversion and money. Case filed in Kaushambi, UP pic.twitter.com/KlMZ7ksV89
A few days before the incident, Arif gathered people from his community and a Maulvi to exert pressure on Chanda to convert to Islam, but she flatly refused.
The daughter went on to say that on February 11, 2023, Arif got Chanda to speak to her daughters, following which he informed them that she was ill and that he was taking her to the hospital for treatment. After a while, they learned of their mother’s death. Arif went to their residence on Tuesday (February 14), left Chanda’s dead body there, and fled.
