Another case of grooming jihad has come to light in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. As per the reports, a 26-year-old Dalit woman has committed suicide on Friday. In a suicide note that she has left behind, she has named one Adil Khan as responsible for her death.
Woman blamed Adil in the suicide note
The woman lived in the TT Nagar area. She was found hanging in her room. The police found a suicide note in the room where she had accused one Adil Khan of her death. “My name is Puja. I am going to commit suicide. Adil Khan, s/o Khalik Khan, is responsible for my death,” she wrote in her suicide note.
Her family filed a complaint against Khan after which the police arrested him under relevant sections, including abetment of suicide.
Adil Khan changed the name to befriend her
According to the victim’s father, the accused had allegedly deceived the woman by changing his name and presenting himself as Hindu. He said that Adil Khan told his daughter that his name is Babloo to befriend her. He added, “When my daughter came to know that he lied she tried to distance herself from him and in return he physically and verbally assaulted her.”
The duo were friends since past 8 years. Puja’s brother said that on Friday evening Puja went to her room and locked herself in. Everyone was present in the house. When she did not open the door upon being asked by the family members, they forcefully opened the door and found her hanging.
Puja’s brother informed that Adil regularly forced her to convert to Islam. When she refused to convert to Islam, Adil got engaged to another girl. This upset Puja, who then committed suicide.
The family of the victim has demanded that Adil Khan must be booked under the new anti-conversion (love jihad) law in the state. However, the police have not confirmed if the case can be registered as forced religious conversion. The accused has been booked under Abetment to Suicide case and has also been booked under Prevention of Protection Act SC-ST Act.
Madhya Pradesh’s anti-forced conversion ordinance
Madhya Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel gave assent to the anti-forced conversion ordinance passed by the state government on Saturday. The new law has been brought to put a stop on the forced religious conversions through fraudulent means. It will include the cases where conversion has been put on the table as one of the conditions of marriage.
If someone is found guilty under the new ordinance, the person(s) involved will face up to 10 years of imprisonment and/or fine. A similar ordinance was brought in Uttar Pradesh as well. There has been a spike in grooming jihad cases in recent past that had raised the demand of anti-conversion law to stop alleged conversion nexus. Last year Uttar Pradesh police had found several grooming jihad cases in a single area in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh after which state government formed SIT for the investigation.
