On 27 June, in the Vaishali district in Hajipur, Bihar, a Muslim family reportedly tried to force a Hindu girl into marriage and assaulted her family. As per Times Now Navbharat, her family was attacked twice, initially with bricks and stones, and later when they were taken to a hospital by the police for their treatment. Five people including her brother and a police personnel suffered injuries as a result of the assault.
The instance is Fatehabad village which falls under the Hajipur police station and is at a distance of 3 to 4 kilometers from the city. The Hindu family had sent their daughter to a relative’s house out of fear. According to them, the accused was constantly harassing their daughter and even threatened to shoot the boy with whom the girl was scheduled to get married. On 27 June, the Muslim side attacked the girl’s family and assaulted them with bricks and stones. Now, police are deployed in large numbers in the area to maintain order and peace.
However, when OpIndia contacted the area’s Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), he refuted all charges of love jihad and denied any communal angle as well. He claimed, “News reports are lying and trying to create a rift in the society on the occasion of Eid al-Adha. There is no love jihad. Media only wants to increase their TRP. We have already released a statement about the same. This is a personal matter between the families and there is no communal angle to it.”
He also alleged that the girl was in a relationship with the Muslim boy for the last two years and he had gone to her house before Eid where he was beaten by the former’s family after which his side retaliated and attacked her family. “All of this occurred on 27 and media is running the news today,” he complained and added, “There is no law and order issue in the region.”
वैशाली जिले के सदर थानान्तर्गत आपसी विवाद को लेकर हुई दो पक्षों के बीच मारपीट की घटना में दोनों पक्षों से कुल 10(दस) व्यक्ति गिरफ्तार…….@bihar_police @IgTirhut @dm_vaishali pic.twitter.com/SYtCJMEqEv
— Vaishali_Police, Bihar (@SpVaishali) June 29, 2023
Vaishali Police also released a statement today offering clarification on the incident. It stated that the reason for the conflict was personal and a case has been registered against both families. It read, “Ten people from each side have been arrested. It is not a communal occurrence. The incident has been misrepresented as a communal one during Eid by news and social media. This is an effort to incite conflict between the communities. Those who engage in such practices will face strict action.”
