UP: Police help 2 Muslim women who married Hindu men

Bareilly (Uttar Pradesh), Dec 27  In two separate incidents, two Muslim women in Bareilly district got married to Hindu men after conversion and were given police security.

In the first case in Bareilly’s Hafizganj area, police called the families of both sides to the police station and settled the matter amicably without filing a case from any side. However, a case of abduction and robbery was filed in the Bahedi area of the district by the family of the woman against the Hindu man she had married.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Rohit Singh Sajwan, told reporters, “The couples, in Hafizganj and in the Bahedi area, are adults. In both the cases, we have considered the girl’s statement. In the Hafizganj case, the couple visited a police station and sought security. Families of both sides were called to the station and the matter was settled. The family members of the girl have accepted the marriage and no case was filed.”

Their marriage was solemnized on Thursday, in a temple in the Rithora area. Members of a saffron outfit also came forward in support of the couple.

In the Bahedi area, the Muslim woman, 29, ‘eloped’ with a Hindu man on Tuesday. She later released a video saying that she got married on September 4 in a temple after converting to Hinduism. She also alleged that her parents have threatened to kill her.

“My parents will be held responsible if something happens to my husband,” the woman said in the video.

A day later, on Wednesday, her family lodged a case against her husband, who was booked on charges of abduction and robbery. The woman’s family has also demanded that the provisions of the new anti-conversion law be included in the FIR.

Police said the couple is in contact with the investigating officer (IO) of the case and will be produced before a magistrate soon.

Sajwan said, “We are following the high court’s direction which says that two consenting adults in a relationship have the right to live together without any interference from their families.”