India: Inter faith marriage in Meerut disrupted by Bajrang dal and organisation of the far right

The Hindu

Bajrang Dal disrupts interfaith couple’s marriage in Meerut

Mohammad Ali
Ashok Kumar

Meerut/Faridabad, September 28, 2017

Woman tells Faridabad court that she wasn’t abducted.

An interfaith couple, whose attempt to register their marriage was disrupted by Bajrang Dal workers on Wednesday, were produced before a court in Faridabad on Thursday but were let off after the woman testified that she was not abducted as alleged by her uncle.

Krishna, 21, who hails from Greater Noida, said she had gone to Meerut with Saddam, a 24-year-old labour contractor from Shamli, out of her own volition. They planned to register their marriage at a court there.

But before they could do so, Bajrang Dal workers reached the court premisesand tried to attack Saddam. The police lathicharged the Bajrang Dal activists when they turned on the policemen protecting the couple.

Superintendent of Police Man Singh, told The Hindu that the Meerut police handed over the couple to the Haryana police, who had arrived in Meerut looking for them.

According to the Faridabad police, Krishna who is second-year BA student at the K.L. Mehta Women’s College, became friends with Saddam three years ago when she was pursuing B.Tech from an institute in Greater Noida.

But the two remained in touch even when she dropped out of her engineering course midway to go and live with her uncle, who is a head constable in Delhi police.
Facilitating ‘love jihad’

After Krishna eloped with Saddam on Wednesday, her uncle reported the matter to the police and a case was registered under Section 346 (wrongful confinement) of the Indian Penal Code at the SGM Police station in Faridabad.

The coordinator of the Bajrang Dal in western Uttar Pradesh, Balraj Dungar was furious with the police for “not cooperating” with his group. He accused the police of facilitating “love jihad”.
Second such attack

“We are proud that we did not let a Muslim boy manipulate a Hindu girl into marrying him. We would never let Muslim boys marry Hindu girls,” Mr. Dungar told The Hindu.

This is the second attack of its kind on inter-religious couples. It comes four days after a similar incident occurred in Hapur in western U.P., where Sangh Parivar workers tried to assault an inter-religious married couple living together in a rented accommodation.

Police had to resort to lathi charge to disperse the mob that tried to snatch the man while they were escorting the two to safety.

The woman had called the police against the “harassment” of Hindutva groups. The police told the Hindutva activists that it was not a case of “love jihad” as the woman married out of her own will and was living with him willingly.

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The Hindu

Inter-faith couple face saffron fury

Staff Reporter

Meerut, September 25, 2017 00:05 IST

Sangh Parivar activists, including those of the BJP, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Bajrang Dal and the ABVP, tried to assault an inter-religious couple in Hapur on Saturday. They arrived outside the house in Devlok Colony where Vidya Shrivastava and Shoaib Alam lived and created a ruckus, while accusing Alam of manipulating Vidya into marriage. The mob started raising slogans.

Vidya and Alam, both residents of Sitamarhi in Bihar, fell in love but their families opposed their relationship. They got married in court early this year and were living in Hapur where Alam has been running a computer training institute. The couple called the police to rescue them from the “harassment” of the Hindutva workers.

When the police tried to take the couple out of the house, the Hindutva activists grappled with them trying to snatch Alam from their custody. The police resorted to a lathi charge.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Pawan Kumar Baliyan told The Hindu: “While Vidya’s relatives alleged that Alam had lured her and manipulated her into marriage, she told the police that they had married in court and she was living with Alam willingly.”

“Vidya’s relatives did not even file a report that she was missing or had been kidnapped,” Mr. Baliyan said.

Vijay Pal, MLA, told the media that the girl’s parents reached Hapur and contacted VHP workers, after which they had gone to “rescue” the girl. He alleged that many Hindutva workers were injured in the lathicharge, which SP Hemant Kutiyal denied.