A woman from Madhya Pradesh’s Indore has alleged that the man she was in relationship with was pressuring her to change her religion. Her 23-year-old lover was arrested after she filed a complaint post watching ‘The Kerala Story’.
According to a report by news agency PTI, the woman lodged the First Information Report following an altercation with the man after watching the controversial film about Indian women joining the Islamic State. The movie also deals with conspiracy theory of “love jihad".
Khajrana police station in-charge Dinesh Verma on Monday said that the man was arrested under provisions of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act 2021, which prohibits conversion by force or cheating, and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The PTI report quoted the complainant as stating in the FIR that she was living with the man “after she fell into the trap of love under the pretext of marriage."
The woman alleged that the man was pressuring her to change her religion and was mentally harassing her.
“The woman said she and the man recently went to watch ‘The Kerala Story’. After watching the film, the duo argued and the man left her after assaulting her. She approached the police on May 19 and lodged an FIR," the police officer said.
The accused man, educated till class 12, is unemployed, while the victim woman is highly educated and works in a private company, he said, adding that she had met the man four years ago while studying in a coaching institute. “All the allegations are being thoroughly investigated," Verma added.
Another alleged incident of ‘love jihad’ was reported from Etmaduddaula region in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra where a woman eloped and got married to a man of a minority community.
An OpIndia report stated that the woman was trapped in a rented apartment by her husband for four months. The report claimed that the woman was “raped" by her husband and “allowed several of his male friends to rape her".
The report claimed that the man had rented the apartment saying that “he and his wife were Hindu and also married". The OpIndia report further claimed that the man used to beat and assault his wife.
The woman was tortured and pressured to satisfy the sexual needs of the accused and his friends, the report claimed, adding that the incident came to light when the owner of the apartment informed the Hindu Jagran Manch members, who then informed the police.
The report stated that the accused was arrested and the victim was rescued. News18, however, could not independently verify the report.
The OpIndia report mentioned another incident from Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior, where a man from a minority community hid his identity and used a “Hindu surname". When a woman fell in love with him, “developed sexual relations" and “asked for marriage", the man revealed his religious identity.
The report claimed that the man then “forced his lover for religious conversion", and “tortured and assaulted" the woman.