Thursday, March 28, 2024

Killed, beaten and humiliated. Stories of India’s 39 interfaith couples

IndiaSpend

Vigilante incidents against couples in inter-faith relationships is increasing in India, reports IndiaSpend.

Here, the stories of India’s 39 interfaith couples:

September 14 2018. Nalgonda, Telangana

A 24-year-old Dalit Christian, Perumalla Pranay, was hacked to death in Telangana’s Miryalguda allegedly at the behest of his wife’s upper caste Hindu realtor father. Nalgonda superintendent of police AV Ranganath told media that Maruthi Rao, who could not digest the fact that his daughter Amrutha Varshini (20) married a Dalit Christian, was the prime accused in the case and was the mastermind behind the killing of Pranay.

Party in power in the state- TRS

Action Taken- Yes

January 13 2018. Khammam, Telangana

An interfaith couple, Suman and Shaheen, got married in a temple against their families’ wishes. Shaheen’s family objected to the marriage on religious grounds. After the wedding, the couple approached Yellendu police seeking protection from her family and relatives. The police called the parents of both sides and advised them against troubling the couple. But post marriage while going to Hyderabad, the couple’s car was chased by another car, till it rammed into a tree and got completely mangled. Though the car driver died in the accident, Suman and Shaheen and their friends survived the attack with injuries.The Khammam police have taken four suspects into custody.

Party in power in the state- TRS

Action Taken- Yes

June 20 2018. Kalaburagi, Karnataka

A Dalit man was beaten by his Muslim-in-laws a year after the couple got married. The man is reported to have been attacked with wooden sticks. The wife sought arrest of her kin.

Party in power in the state- INC+JDS

Action taken- Yes

Reshma Ashok Kumar Kunil and Mohammed Iqbal Mohammed Umar Chaudhary

September 6 2017. Hingoli, Maharashtra

A Hindu-Muslim couple approached the Bombay High Court alleging harassment by Bajrang Dal activists and Nagpur police. Mohammad Arif Dosani, a resident of Vasmath in Hingoli district, and Monica Ingle, now Aayat after conversion, said police officers from Imamwada police station constantly harassed them at the instance of Bajrang Dal men. Arif’s relatives were also harassed, it was alleged.

Party in power in the state- BJP

Action taken- Not known

December 17 2017. Thane, Maharashtra

23-year-old Reshma Ashok Kumar Kunil was kidnapped, allegedly by her own family, as the latter did not approve of her marriage to Mohammed Iqbal Mohammed Umar Chaudhary, 28, a resident of Mankhurd. Chaudhary filed a habeas corpus petition in the Bombay High Court on December 22, and one person was arrested. On February 7, 2018, the couple was reunited as the court allowed Reshma to live with Chaudhary.

Party in power in the state- BJP

Action taken- Yes

September 12 2016. Thane, Maharashtra

Decomposed bodies of a Hindu man (Vijay, 30) and his 9-month pregnant Muslim wife (Sufia alis Priya, 22) were found. Police arrested Shafiq Mansoori, a friend of Vijay and a distant relative of Priya, as villagers harassed him for the being the reason behind their interfaith marriage.

Party in power in the state- BJP

Action taken- Yes

July 21 2017. Mumbai, Maharashtra

Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi’s son Farhan received death threats for marrying a Hindu woman. The caller also allegedly made remarks against the Muslim community and threatened to bomb Azmi’s house.

Party in power in the state- BJP

Action taken- Yes

Mumbai,Samajwadi Party,Abu Azmi

May 8 2018. Kachchh, Gujarat

A 23-year-old youth was bludgeoned to death near Palara Central Jail in Bhuj. Police said the victim, identified as Jaideep Garwa, a Dalit resident of Kotai village of Bhuj taluka, was in love with a Muslim woman. On the complaint of Manji Garwa (46), police have booked Mahommed Aslam Sama and his brother Shamsuddin Sama, both residents of Bakali Colony in Patwadi Naka area of Bhuj. “Manji has alleged that Jaideep was in love with Mahommed Sama’s daughter. But Mahommed was against it. Harbouring grudge against Jaideep, he and his brother Shamsuddin decided to bump him off. On the day of the crime, the accused allegedly kidnapped Jaideep and dumped his body near Palara Central Jail after murdering him,” said ST/SC Cell deputy superintendent of police J N Panchal.

Party in power in the state- BJP

Action taken- Yes

July 28 2018. Dahod, Gujarat

Displeased at the marriage of an interfaith couple, the Muslim woman’s family and others from her community–about 200 people–ransacked the Hindu man’s house, set ablaze his father’s multi-utility vehicle and a neighbour’s moped, and stole ornaments worth Rs 45,000. The complainant alleged that the mob was armed with sticks and sharp weapons.

Party in power in the state- BJP

Action taken- Yes

July 8 2017. Sehore, Madhya Pradesh

The homes of two dozen Muslim families were torched in Madhya Pradesh after a youth from the community eloped with a minor Rajput girl. “If you don’t hand over the man and our girl within two hours, we will set every house on fire. If you don’t leave the village after that and try to intervene, no one will be spared,’’ a section of Hindu villagers had allegedly warned Muslims before torching almost every property owned by the minority community.

Party in power in the state- BJP

Action taken- Yes

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July 20 2018. Barmer, Rajasthan

A Dalit man was beaten to death for having an affair with two Muslim women. Khetaram Bheel rented a piece of land from one Aasiyat Khan. Bheel is said to have had an affair with the woman’s youngest daughter and another daughter–wife of Amar Khan, the prime accused in his murder case.

Party in power in the state- BJP

Action taken- Yes

October 12 2017. Barmer, Rajasthan

A Muslim man was dragged out of a hotel and assaulted for being with a Hindu woman–allegedly by her relatives.

Party in power in the state- BJP

Action taken- Not known

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May 1 2018. Bikaner, Rajasthan

A 21-year-old Muslim man was killed for having an affair with a Hindu woman. The man was first abducted by the woman’s kin and was later found by a waste-water pond–his legs were beaten to a pulp, and there were severe injuries to his head and torso. He died in the hospital a few hours later.

Party in power in the state- BJP

Action taken- Yes

December 17 2017. Gumla, Jharkhand

A tribal Sarna couple and their elder daughter was lynched, while two younger daughters were injured. One of the injured girls, a 17-year-old, is said to have had an affair with a Christian youth Nandlal Kerketta, 23. The girl’s family had filed charges of abduction on Nandlal following which he jumped into a well while fleeing from the police.

Party in power in the state- BJP

Action taken- Yes

Hindu,Muslim,Uttar Pradesh

May 30 2017. Gumla, Jharkhand

Villagers allegedly tied a 20-year-old Muslim man to a tree and beat him for hours for being in love with a Hindu woman, leading to his death. The man–identified as Mohammad Shalik, a resident of Raza Colony–was allegedly in a relationship with a Hindu woman of a nearby village, Soso, for more than a year. The girl reportedly called the boy to meet her at Gumla town for the Ram Navami procession. Fearing trouble, Shalik initially refused but finally went to meet her on a scooty and dropped her home, police said. It is then that a group of neighbours saw Shalik and attacked him

Party in power in the state- BJP

Action taken- Yes

November 6 2017. Bokaro, Jharkhand

A Hindu girl–wife of a Muslim–was raped by her father-in-law and an uncle of the husband, and then killed because she refused to convert to Islam post her marriage. The dead body of the victim, who had gone missing since a number of days, was recovered with her hands and legs tied, near the bank of a river. The husband alleged that he too was tied up by his father-uncle duo, and hence wasn’t able to stop them.

Party in power in the state- BJP

Action taken- Yes

In the burnt remains of a Bihar village lie disturbing questions

January 18 2015. Muzaffarpur, Bihar

The body of 20-year-old Bhartendu Sahni was found in a Muslim man’s field. Bhartendu was said to be in love with the man’s daughter.

Party in power in the state- JDU+BJP

Action taken- Not known

At a loss for words: Mukesh Kumar’s father Ravikant Sah and mother Geeta Devi show a photo of their son.

November 27 2017. West Chambaran, Bihar

Two class IX students–Mukesh Kumar and Noor Jehan Khatun–were killed allegedly by Noor Jehan’s family, as the teenagers fell in love.

Party in power in the state- JDU+BJP

Action taken- Yes

May 26 2018. Ramnagar, Uttarakhand

Sub-Inspector Gagandeep Singh received an alert of a communal build up near Girija Devi temple, some 14-15 km from main Ramnagar city as a Muslim youth who had come to meet his girlfriend in the temple was caught by the local mob which was objecting to his relationship with the girl who was Hindu. Members of a Hindu organisation also got the air of it and reached the temple. While the mob surrounded the Muslim youth who was slapped a few times, tension built up. When police reached the spot, SI Gagandeep Singh shielded the boy from the mob, which had started to get violent.

Party in power in the state- BJP

Action taken- No

May 19 2018. Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh

A 24-year-old Muslim man was abused, threatened and assaulted by a group of men–reportedly belonging to right wing organisations–who objected to his relationship with a Hindu woman.

Party in power in the state- BJP

Action taken- Yes

Screengrab from the video

September 20 2017. Agra, Uttar Pradesh

Sangeeta Varshney, BJP Mahila Morcha’s president was caught on camera repeatedly slapping and repimanding a girl for being in a relationship with a Muslim man. It is claimed that the couple was also rounded up by Hindu Yuva Vahini.

Party in power in the state- BJP

Action taken- No

February 16 2018. Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh

A Muslim youth, 22-year-old Aqib Qazi, was beaten and his motorcycle set on fire after the neighbours of a Hindu girl he was visiting and members of a right wing outfit were irked by it. When the girl’s family tried to stop the attackers, they were beaten too.

Party in power in the state- BJP

Action taken- Yes

July 31 2018. Tehri, Uttar Pradesh

An irate mob brutally beat up a teenaged Muslim boy after he was found in a hotel room with a Hindu minor girl in Ghansali area of Tehri district. Locals thrashed the youth who hails from Bijnore district in UP and worked as a barber in Ghansali. The mob also put a garland of shoes around his neck and paraded him in the area. They ransacked the shop where the teenager worked at and damaged shops belonging to the minority community.

Party in power in the state- BJP

Action taken- Not known

December 11 2017. Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh

A Muslim man was beaten by 8-10 men for “getting a woman from a different community” to his house. The men alleged that the two were involved in “indecent activities”.

Party in power in the state- BJP

Action taken- No

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May 2 2017. Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh

Ghulam Mohammed, 60, a Muslim man in Soi village of Bulandshahr district, was lynched to death after his Muslim neighbour eloped with a Hindu girl from a neighbouring village. Hindu Yuva Vahini members were arrested for their involvement in the lynching. Mohammed was working in a mango orchard close to home when a group of men on motorcycles lynched him.

Party in power in the state- BJP

Action taken- Yes

June 7 2016. Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh

A Muslim couple was beaten up by members of the Bajrang Dal who mistook the woman to be a Hindu and the case to be one of ‘Love Jihad’. The woman also accused the attackers of gang raping her. The woman and her Muslim friend had gone out to eat Pizza, when they were accosted by the goons. They hurled communal abuses at the couple and said, “Tum log Hindu mohalle ko ganda karte ho (You lot are dirtying the Hindu locality)”. They then dragged them out of the place, beat them, and then took her to another place where she was gang-raped.

Party in power in the state- SP

Action taken- Yes

Shri Krishna.

June 26 2018. Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh

Shri Krishna (44), a Dalit from the Kori community in Sonda Habibpur village in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, was allegedly forced to lick his own spit in public because his son married a Muslim girl. “When I did not lick my own spit, they thrashed me,” he said. Five persons, identified as Bhura Khan, the girl’s father, Narayan Solanki, Khillu, Kuldeep and Vishnu, are accused in the case.

Party in power in the state- BJP

Action taken- Yes

February 20 2015. Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh

Members of a Muslim family were assualted–and their house ransacked–after a youth of the family had eloped with a Hindu girl. The girl’s father filed a case of kidnapping against the youth, while the Muslim family fled the village fearing more attacks.

Party in power in the state- SP

Action taken- Yes

July 5 2018. Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh

An interfaith couple, Suhail and Monika were manhandled outside the sub-divisional magistrate court when they had gone to get their marriage certificate verified. The attackers were allegedly BJP workers. It was later revealed that one of the perpetrators, Jaswinder Kaur is the BJP district-vice president.

Party in power in the state- BJP

Action taken- Yes

July 22 2016. Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh

A 14-year-old Muslim boy, Ershad, was killed for having an affair with his neighbor, a 15-year-old Hindu girl. Two brothers of the girl and an uncle has been arrested by the police, who said that the boy was quietly abducted, killed and buried. Police dug out his body from the compound of the girl’s family.

Party in power in the state- SP

Action taken- Yes

 muzaffarnagar communal riots, hindu-muslim marriage, muzaffarnagar murder, naseem khan, pinki kumari, uttar pradesh news, indian express

July 17 2017. Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh

After a Hindu-Muslim couple Naseem Khan and Pinki Kumari returned to their village–two years after getting married–Naseem was beaten with sticks and shot to death by Pinki’s family.

Party in power in the state- BJP

Action taken- Yes

February 14 2018. Shamli, Uttar Pradesh

A 19-year-old Muslim boy and a 17-year-old Hindu girl–on a Valentine’s Day date–were caught by some members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad who termed it as an incident of “love jihad”. The boy was beaten, and handed over to his parents.

Party in power in the state- BJP

Action taken- No

December 26 2017. Ghaziabad, NCT Delhi

A mob comprising local BJP leaders and members of right wing groups gathered outside the venue of a Hindu-Muslim wedding. The bride’s father, a Hindu, said he had been receiving threatening calls saying he was acting against the Hindu religion.

Party in power in the state- AAP

Action taken- Yes

July 23 2018. Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh

A Muslim man was thrashed by six Hindu men while the former was on his way to register his marriage with a Hindu girl. The mob thrashed him, held him by the collar and paraded him in the court premises before the police on the premises rescued him. A taxi hired by the couple to reach the court was also damaged by the angry mob. Two men have sought to surrender for the attack.

Party in power in the state- BJP

Action taken- Yes

August 21 2018. Faridabad, Haryana

The body of a Dalit man, Sanjay Kumar, was found in Faridabad six days after he went missing. Sanjay had eloped and married a Muslim woman a year before, but got divorced two months before under pressure from the woman’s family. The woman’s father and a neighbour, along with her brother, have been arrested and have confessed to the crime.

Party in power in the state- BJP

Action taken- Yes

Ankit Saxena’s murder was planned, states chargesheet

February 1 2018. West Delhi, NCT Delhi

A 23-year-old Hindu man, Ankit Saxena, was killed allegedly by the members of one Shehzadi’s family who were opposed to the couple’s interfaith relationship. When Ankit’s mother tried to shield him, she was beaten.

Party in power in the state- AAP

Action taken- Yes

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