On Tuesday (26th March), the Sessions Court in Bharuch City of Gujarat rejected the bail plea of Adil Abdul Patel in Bharuch’s Love Jihad case. Adil Abdul Patel was arrested about three months ago. In this case, the court has rejected the bail application and called it an ‘eye opener for today’s young generation’. The court has held that Adil Abdul Patel deliberately created a fake ID and trapped the Hindu girl. He did this for about four years. The court has also held that if Adil is released on bail, it will send a wrong message to society.
The case came to light in January this year. A Hindu girl from Bharuch had accused a person named Adil, a resident of Chavaj village, of trapping her on Instagram by befriending her using a Hindu name. Adil was arrested after an FIR was registered at Bharuch Rural police station in this regard. Since then, the case has been going on and the police have already submitted the charge sheet.
After the chargesheet was filed, Adil applied for bail in March 2024, which was heard by the Sessions Court. On 26th March, the court dismissed the petition. In his plea, Adil had claimed that a false complaint had been filed to frame him in this case and said that now that the charge sheet was filed, he should be released on bail.
The public prosecutor opposed the bail application. Giving details of the case, he said that the accused befriended the girl by creating a false ID on Instagram and presented himself as ‘Arya Patel’, a Hindu youth despite him being a Muslim. Not only that, he also lied that his parents died in an accident years ago despite him living with his parents.
The prosecution stressed the necessity of considering the modus operandi of the accused. It was argued that if granted bail, there is a possibility of the accused repeating the offence, endangering other innocent girls. Moreover, as both the accused and the victim hail from the same village, releasing the accused could lead to potential tampering with evidence.
The government lawyer contended that due to the gravity of the offence committed by the accused, it is imperative to send a strong message to society to prevent any recurrence of such acts. Therefore, the bail application should be denied.
After hearing the arguments of both the parties, the court said that it would not be going into the merits of the case at present and there was no need to discuss the evidence as it would be discussed during the trial. But based on the material available on record, it is so clear that the accused had created a false ID and contacted the victim, the court added. The court made it clear that even after meeting the girl in person, the accused identified himself as ‘Arya Patel’ instead of disclosing his real name.
The court mentioned, “Already the accused was misleading the victim and proposed to her despite being married and living with his wife. The two were not familiar with each other earlier, and the accused assumed the fake name to contact the victim and to some extent succeeded. Such an act should be condemned.”
The court further said, “Given the modus operandi of the accused, if the application is allowed, it will encourage such elements to exploit the girls by trapping them with false promises. If the accused is released, the elements looking for opportunities to exploit innocent girls will get licences.”
The court also said, “In this case, the accused has not only played with the sentiments of the victim of another religion but has also done injustice to his wife.” The court observed, “The present case may be considered as an eye opener for today’s young generation who blindly, without any hesitation accept friend requests on social media without ascertaining the reality of the sender.”
After hearing the arguments of both sides, the court rejected the bail application considering the evidence, modus operandi and facts of the accused. Adil will remain in jail. The order was issued on 26th March. A copy of the court order is available with OpIndia.
