In two separate cases, where Muslim women had married Hindu men in the Bareilly district of Utter Pradesh, police protection had to be given after they converted to Hinduism.
Both marriages took place in Bareilly’s Hafizganj and Bahedi area. In one case police called the families of both sides to settle the matter amicably. However, a case of abduction and robbery was filed in the Bahedi area by the family of the Muslim woman against the Hindu man she had married.
The woman’s family asked the local authority that the provisions of the new anti-conversion law be included in the FIR.
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.”
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.”
Their marriage was solemnised on Thursday (December 24), in a temple in the Rithora area with members of a Hindu outfit who had come forward in support of the couple.
In the Bahedi area, the Muslim woman, 29, ‘eloped’ with a Hindu man and later she released a video saying that she got married on 4 September in a temple after converting to Hinduism and has alleged that her parents have threatened to kill her.
The women in the video could be heard saying that if anything happens to her, her parents will be held responsible.