An interfaith couple was allegedly assaulted by lawyers inside the district court in Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa while registering their marriage, as they accused the Muslim man of “love jihad.”
According to the police, the Muslim man and Hindu woman had come to register their marriage. Trouble began when the two walked into a lawyer’s chamber, and the woman, who was wearing a burqa, revealed her name.
Some lawyers demanded to see the man’s Aadhaar card. Upon discovering his religious identity, they accused him of “love jihad” before allegedly assaulting him.
More lawyers allegedly joined in, intensifying the attack on the man. Local police were informed, and Civil Lines SHO Kamlesh Sahu arrived at the scene with three personnel.
“The woman had a Hindu name but was dressed in a burqa, so they got angry. She belongs to an upper-caste family. They were being roughed up and pushed around,” Civil Lines SHO Kamlesh Sahu told The Indian Express.
“They have been in a relationship for over a year and wanted to marry. The man works as a labourer, and their parents have not come forward so far. We managed to save them, and that’s what matters now,” he said.
Police managed to extract the man, whose shirt had been torn, while the woman was taken in a police jeep to the nearest safe house.
An FIR has been registered against unidentified persons for assaulting the man; however, no arrests have been made so far.
Meanwhile, the Rewa Bar Association denied the involvement of lawyers in the incident.
This is the second incident of this nature this month. Similarly, an interfaith couple who visited a court in Bhopal to register their marriage was targeted by members of right-wing outfits, who assaulted the man from the Muslim community after accusing him of “love jihad.”
